Please don't be thrown off by the flowery beginning. Just read through and tell me what you think, alright? And, again, written way too late to be awake. I seem to write a lot at such times...

Snow. Wonderful bouts of lovely snow. It sprinkled itself across my small town, shining and white. It was truly a beautiful day; children playing in inches of snow, teenagers dressed in warm winter coats laughing and talking. The streets were alive as people walked through their lives, smiling and talking.

I was walking toward the mall, smiling and dancing in the light sprinkle of snowfall. I knew it would be a wonderful day. I was meeting my boyfriend to see a movie, and later to shop with my friend. I tilted my face up to the sky, giggling as the small flakes stung at my face. I loved the snow; it was my favorite weather.

Still laughing, I continued my walk. As I walked past someone’s backyard, a golden dog began to bark at me. I stuck my tongue out at it. It wanted to play. Still smiling, I hurried along. I was already going to be late (I just had to stop and toss a snowball at my friend’s window!). The dog continued to bark long after I had moved out of sight.

I smiled as I walked into the mall and out of the cold. My boyfriend was waiting for me, and laughed when he saw my face covered in melting snow.

When I awoke the next morning, I was in a good mood. My house was completely silent. I walked into the kitchen to find it empty. My parents weren’t there. Shrugging it off, I ate breakfast. I washed my hands after I finished cleaning off my plate. Rust spilled into the sink. I frowned, and turned off the water. I’d have to call the plumber.

I walked to school, amazed to find that it was still snowing. The skies were gray and overcast with the promise of snow all day. I passed the yellow dog again on my way. He was barking at me again. The fence was rusty, perhaps from all the snow. The dog was suddenly quiet. I preferred it this way, and continued my walk to school.

I was seated in English, drumming my fingers against my desk. It was the most boring class of the day. I glanced at the desk next to me. Usually, a girl with dark make up sat there. She wasn’t there. The desk looked old and worn down; the metal was rusted.

“Where’s Lily?” I asked. No one answered me, all the students intent on their work. My teacher didn’t even glance at the empty desk. I returned to my work, my mind still nagging to know what was going on. The day passed on. Every other class was completely normal. I even saw Lily in French. I couldn’t help but wonder what had seemed so strange. I didn’t see my parents that night.

The next morning, my house was once again quiet when I woke up. I took a shower, and found that the rusted water hadn’t reached the shower. As I made some toast for breakfast, I searched for a note to explain the absence of my family. I could find none. I supposed they had come home late and gone to work early again. It had happened once or twice.

As I rinsed off my dish, I was amazed to find the rust was darker that morning. Glancing at the faucet, I noticed it was rusting over. I made a mental note to call the plumber myself that night, and put away my plate. After digging around the house for all my homework and my backpack, I finally made it out the door.

I passed the yellow dog on my way to school, as I always did. His fence was completely rusted over. He was barking at me, yipping and dancing. As I walked in front of him, he was suddenly quiet. When I looked in the yard, I couldn’t see him.

In English, Lily’s desk was gone altogether. She wasn’t there. There was a large splotch of rust on the floor as the ceiling dripped melted snow to the ground. It was eerie for some reason. I couldn’t place my finger on it. Something was wrong. I just didn’t know what. I didn’t see Lily at all that day. My other classes were eerily quiet.

I didn’t see my parents that night either. I couldn’t get a dial tone on the phone; it was disturbing. I decided to ignore it, and watched the news that night. There had been a school shooting somewhere… I fell asleep on the couch.

The next morning was exactly the same as the morning before it. The entire sink was rusty now. I decided to just ignore at that point. I touched the sink, and recoiled the find it wet and sticky. My finger was red.

I walked to school, as always. The yellow dog didn’t bark at me that morning. He was lying perfectly still, not even breathing. He was surrounded by a pool of liquid rust. I stared at him for a moment before hurrying to get to school.

Please let it be a normal day. Please let it be normal…

Lily wasn’t there that day. Everyone in English kept staring at me in horror. I tried to ask them what was wrong, but they never answered. Even the teacher. And Lily’s desk was still missing. It was again replaced by rust. I was scared at this point; nothing made sense to me. It was silent, echoing, flowing through the dark, overcast sky.

That night, I couldn’t find my parents. I found their cell phones. They were covered in rust.

The next morning, my floor was the color of rust. The stairs, the kitchen tiles, the carpet in the living room, all rusted. I was terrified and skipped breakfast to hurry to school. As I passed the yellow dog, he was silent again. He had a hole in his neck. My English class was the worst. The walls were washed in rust. Lily wasn’t there. I kept hearing her voice, crying, sobbing, and begging. I couldn’t see her. Everyone stared at me in horror, as if I had done something unthinkable. I was confused and lost, terrified and alone.

That night, I still couldn’t find or contact my family. It was a relief when the doorbell rang; something different! I hurried to answer the door. There was a man in a black suit there, accompanied by a doctor.

“I’m sorry, sirs, but my parents aren’t home.” I told them. “Please return later on. They’ll be home anytime now.”

“We’re here to talk to you.” The doctor informed me. I stepped aside to let them in. “Now, Helen, we’re here to take you away for awhile.”

He said this carefully, as though it would set me off. I was confused and angry.

“Take me where? What have I done?” I asked, preparing to go get the gun my dad kept around the house for protection.

“Helen, your parents are home.” He told me instead.

“No, they aren’t. I haven’t seen them in days. Don’t change the subject!” I snapped. I was terrified; two strange men had entered my home, and they were scaring me.

“Helen…” The doctor trailed off, as if he was unsure of how to proceed. The man in the suit grabbed me roughly.

“She needs to be taken in. Now.”

“She is obviously unstable. We do not want to upset her anymore than necessary!” The doctor retorted. I was confused.

“What’s going on?” I squeaked in fear.

“Helen, look behind you.” The doctor said resignedly. I did. My parents were behind me. Dead. They each had three bullets in their bodies. They were staring at me, dead eyes trained on me. I screamed at the sight of dried blood coating their bodies. I could suddenly smell of dying flesh, and vomited.

I began to scream again, sobbing.

“Who did this? What’s going on?” I cried, tearing away from the man in the suit. I wanted help, someone to stop all this. I was shaking in terror.

“You did.” The doctor said softly. Memories floated back to me, memories I didn’t want to believe. I wouldn’t believe!

A gun. A shot. My parents’ screams. I washed my hands, watching the blood run down the sink. I laughed, and left the warm house. They wouldn’t win. They wouldn’t get me. They wouldn’t hurt me. I had stopped them. Ha. As I passed the yellow dog, he barked at me. I hated that dog. I shot him. Want to play with a hole in your neck? Blood pooled around him.

As I entered English class, I had the gun hidden in my jacket. Lily, the dark girl next to me, watched me with interest as always. What did she want? Why was she watching me? Suddenly, I was outraged. I didn’t know why. I just knew that Lily had to die. And I pulled out the gun. She gasped, and began to beg me not to kill her. She gave me a hundred reasons. I shot her. The classroom was silent, staring at me in mute horror. My teacher slowly picked up her phone. I pointed the gun at her. She dropped it. Laughing to myself (after all, had I not saved myself from the accusing stare? From the yellow dog? From my own parents?), I left the school.

I collapsed to the ground, sobbing and screaming. I was hysterical; I was insane. Did I still have the gun? Did I? I felt around in my jacket. I did. I had the gun. I pulled it out, causing both men to freeze. I laughed, and reflected upon all hat had occurred recently…

And, now, with the gun pointed to my own head, I squeeze the trigger.