Kiss of Darkness (Editing)

Kiss of Darkness 3

3

I shoved my binders into my backpack and groaned as one of them exploded. Papers fluttered to the floor and I quickly kneeled to pick them up.  

"Hey Claudia? Where's Kathryn? I haven't seen her since yesterday..."  

I looked up and saw Cale helping me pick up the papers.  

"No, I haven't seen her either. She's probably sick or something right?"  

"Yeah probably. Hey Cale? Could you take this to my locker?" I handed him my backpack and he shouldered it with a nod. I hurried to the front desk, I needed to check something. Then I saw them, Kathryn's parents. They stood by the front desk. Her mom was crying and her dad had his arms wrapped around her.  

Kathryn's parents? What happened?

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I was floating. In a dreamless wonderland. No pain, no confusion, just being. Then like a rubber band snapping, I returned to reality with a crash. I blinked my eyes against the harsh light. I was in bed, with pillows and the stuffed animals. I sat up cautiously, and then I realized my left arm was bandaged tightly.  

I moved slowly, still waking up. My right hand wandered to the bandage and I began to unwrap it.  

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." I looked around confusedly. There was a woman, maybe 22? She sat on a bed way over to my right. She had short black hair with red streaks running through it. Her most striking feature was a rose, tattooed on her neck. A black rose with throny vines extending below the neck of her shirt.  A tight black shirt wrapped her torso, a matching black mini with silver buckles completed the outfit. She looked like some sort of punk fairy. 

She spooned cereal into her mouth and continued to watch me. I opened my mouth to ask who she was but my throat was dry. My body groaned in protest. My throat was parched, my joints ached, and a dull thudding pain was emanating from my left arm.  

She smirked and pointed past me to a night stand. There was a tray with a glass of water and a small covered plate. I reached past the covered plate and grabbed the glass of water quickly, ignoring the protests of my body. I gulped the glass down quickly, the cool liquid provided a momentary relief but it was soon gone and I replaced the glass.  

"The first days are the worst, don't worry. It gets better," said the girl with rose tattoo. She stood up and walked around the basement or warehouse...the place. It was a big square-ish room. It was made of gray brick and there was a jail-cell feel about it. A kitchen stood in the center of the room, open in all directions like a television set. The girl walked over to the kitchen and dumped the bowl in the sink. She turned the tap on to soak the dish then walked back to her bed.  

"Where am I?" I asked. Scared of the answer to come.  

"Welcome to hell on earth sweetie. Get used to it." She muttered. I stared at her, shocked. How was she so calm despite being held here? As a captive, as a prisoner?!  

"I'm Rose."  

"Kathryn." Then a shock ran up my arm, starting from where the bandages were. I screamed as the shock increased in intensity and ran through my body.  

"What's your new name?" Rose asked calmly. She didn't rise to help me or ask what had just happened. She simply sat there and watched me with heavy gray eyes.  

"New name?" I managed. I hurt. I hurt a lot and it seemed like there was nothing to be done about it.  

"Yeah. New name. He must've given you one. You've already been tattooed."  

"Tattooed?" Was that what was on my arm?  

"Yes. Listen to the words coming out of my mouth." Rose rolled her eyes at my slowness. Cut me some slack. I was disoriented and tired and in pain. There was only so much I could handle.  

"Rose? Is she awake?" A new voice asked from somewhere.  

"Yeah, she's awake. Get her another glass of water." Rose said, tilting her head up. I followed Rose's gaze and noticed a loft I hadn't before. A young girl sat up there, her legs dangling over the edge. She leaned on the rail that lined the edge.  

The girl scampered up and climbed down the ladder that connected her loft to the ground. She made her way to the kitchen and grabbed a water bottle.  

"Here, I'm so sorry you're here...." The girl said quietly. She put the water bottle next to me and smiled. She had long black hair that appeared to envelop her petite body. She had brown eyes that radiated intelligence and pity and sorrow...for me?  

"Hi, what's your name?" I asked. She looked so frail, she couldn't be more than 11... This man was sick. Abducting such an innocent, young girl. Anger boiled in me, but what could I do? Sit and hurt, that's what.  

"I'm Mari---" She stopped suddenly and fear flashed through her eyes. "I'm Sunflower. My name is Sunflower. I'm Sunflower."  She repeated the phrase like a mantra, like she was trying to convince, herself. I saw tears start to well up in her eyes and then she turned and she ran away toward her loft. 

Then somewhere, I heard a door open. I heard heavy footsteps, slow and deliberate. The man appeared. Or a man. The mask was different, but the eyes were the same. Cold, black, indifferent. His mask covered his face, it was probably meant to represent the moon and the sun or something like that. The sun part, red and gold swooped over the top right of his face. The rest was a waxy, pale white. One of his eyes shown through and chills ran down my spine.  

"Food," he grunted. He tossed a bag onto the counter in the kitchen. He also put three folders on the table. Then he walked and turned to face my bed. Something passed through his eyes...eye. I couldn't read it but he quickly turned and walked back out anyways. The door slammed shut and everything was quiet once again.