Alice

chapter twelve

A couple hours after everyone returned from the cemetery, night began to melt through the scarlet evening sky. Clouds slowly dissipated in the horizon, and crows perched in the leafless trees. A chilly wind sighed, howling woefully as it blew against the well crafted structure of the orphanage.

Dinner was severed in the Lunch Room. Many children, teens and a few adults chattered loudly amongst themselves. Alice and Sarah sat together at the Fifth graders' table as usual, talking. Sarah ate her pasta hungrily, along with her garlic bread and a glass of milk. Alice had the same food stuffs as her friend, but she only took small bites.

Alice soon began to feel hungry again, but not for food. The darkness in her pecked at her mind, telling Alice to kill again. And now Alice's will was less strong. Over the past few hours, the demon grew more strong. Without a face nor sound, Alice did all in her power to hold back the evil. The hairs on the back of her head tingled, and her hands trembled. She cast a glance at Sarah, who was blank as she ate. Alice could hear her heart beat slower, and yet faster. She saw shadowy figures in her vision, and a voice spoke in her head.

Find someone...kill...drink their blood...feast on their flesh...kill..kill now...

Alice felt tears come to her eyes as her strength dwindle and her true self evanesce. Suddenly a shriek began to echo in Alice's mind. She heard it quickly grow from low to loud, and a flash of the demon's face appears before her. She yelped and flinched in her seat.

The sudden yelp caught Sarah's attention. She stopped chewing. "What's wrong?" She asked, worry in her eye once again.

I can't hold back the demon for much longer, Alice thought in a flash. Then she answered. "I feel woozy, I'm gonna go to bed."

Sarah looked at Alice with concern, and nodded her head slightly. "Okay," she said. "Please, be careful, by each passing day I grow more and more worried about you."

Alice left without replying. Her shoes clicked against the wooden floorboards in a fast rhythm. With each step, the demon took more control of Alice's mind. The feelings of bloodlust and fear turned off and on, which caused severe stress for Alice. Her knees grew weak as she approached the first flight of stairs. A small electric shock zapped her palm when she gripped the railing, which for some reason caused Alice's vision to go dim. Although the dimmer it got, the better Alice could see. She had many impulses to attack when she passed by a student or teacher. Children shot spit wads at her and called her 'bitch and 'boner smoker' as she walked by. Anger began to swell in her. She closed her eyes tight, trying oh so hard to hold back the evil power inside her.

Soon she reached the fifth graders room. She quickly entered and shut the door. But she did not go to sleep as she told Sarah. She slowly approached the window, and leaned her hands against it and stared out into the dark of night. Before Alice was possessed, she was always afraid of the dark. But now, it gave her strength. An evil strength. Suddenly an inundation of evil swept over Alice. Her fingernails clawed at the glass panes, and she growled like an angry lion.

"K-k-k-kill," she hissed. "I...m-must kill."

The demon was now more powerful than before. Evil now ran through Alice's veins. Her pupils were tiny as a large pinhead, and she gritted her teeth so hard they nearly cracked. She abruptly turned around and quickly approached the door, ready to kill. Then she stopped herself, and muttered, "No...I must wait, for all are vigilant. Once all are asleep, blood will be spilt."

So, Alice messed up her bed before crawling in. She slumped upon the mattress and pulled the covers over her head. But she did not go to sleep. Her eyes remained open. Alice felt terrified and excited at the same time, but mainly excited. She was failing, the demon grew stronger with each breath Alice drew. As she lay in silence, she thought of who she'd kill and how she'd get away with it. She could already picture herself hiding a dead body of a child or teacher in a closet, with a knife in her hand. She could not wait for that moment to come.

The moon disappeared behind a swab of dark clouds. Alice had waited an hour after the other children had come into the room and went to sleep. At last, she could kill. At last, she could feel the pleasure of murder. Alice's emotional, strong willed personality was almost completely gone. Now, she was a murderer; a blood hungry murderer. She slowly and quietly slipped out of bed, and glanced around the room, to make sure no one else was awake. Luckily for her, everyone was asleep. She tip-toed towards the door, and exited the fifth graders room.

As she walked down the silent hall, she knew exactly who to go after.

Alice was going to kill Charlie.

That asshole deserves death more than anyone else, Alice thought. She thought of where Charlie might be. She cringed as ideas began to come to her. I bet he's in a janitor closet with one of his girls, she thought. But that was not likely where he was to be. Alice remembered when she first encountered him. He smelled of cigarette, bear and outside air. So she broke into a small trot, heading to the back door that leads to the playground.

Once she arrived at the door, she heard Charlie flirting with one of his girlfriends. Anger swelled up inside her. Her hands twitched and her eyes began to glow a dark red. She hissed, then kicked the door open. Charlie was bareback while sitting upon the ground. In his lap sat one of his girlfriends, while his other ones sat and watched. Charlie and the girls screamed as they saw Alice standing in the doorway, eyes blood red and hands gnarled.

"What the hell?-" Charlie quickly sat up, holding one of his girlfriends in front of him as a shield.

The power inside Alice rushed into action. Talons burrowed from beneath her fingernails, and fangs dug out from her gums. Dark yellow, nasty fangs. In a flash, Alice snarled and charged, her head violently jerking side to side, up and down. First, Alice attacked the girl Charlie used as a shield. With her talons, she created a deep bloody gash in the girl's chest. When she fell dead, she went after the other girl. Before she could scream, Alice bit the girls neck. Blood spurted into Alice's mouth. She swallowed it, and turned towards Charlie, who was frozen in fear. She gave him a toothy grin, and said in a demonic voice, "Time to die Charlie."

Alice zoomed towards Charlie, and attacked his face with her fanged mouth. She chewed on his jaw, tearing through flesh and blood vessels. Charlie was in so much agony, he could not scream whatsoever. He fought so hard to break free, but Alice was too strong. Soon, he went limp. He was dead.

Alice stopped chewing on Charlie's face, and lifted her head. She smiled with glee when she saw his bones, scratched and cracked from her fangs (which had retracted). Then, without a single word, Alice left. Not caring the slightest bit about what she had done. But inside, the only remaining bit of the true Alice was terrified.