It’s not completed, yet, by the way.

--

Part one: the coming

1.

The boulevard was sun streaked and a warm yellow rested with the trees. I could remember it so clearly, that day. I was coming home from school, but I could never have imagined what was waiting for me when I stepped foot into my home. The door knob felt cold in my hand as I twisted it and it clicked open to reveal the sight that had destroyed my entire world as I knew it.

My mother had hung herself, and her toes faintly touched the table top. I dropped to my knees in a traumatizing awe. Then I fainted.

2.

I don’t know she could’ve done that. We were both Christians, and we were well known in our church. I walked into the hall, ready to say my last goodbyes to my pastor before the car would leave and take me to my aunt in a town far away, called Purples Burg. My pastor looked down at me with pitiful and sad eyes, “Your mother was not who I thought she was.”

“No…” I replied softly, and I looked out to the cold Mosaic of Jesus Christ on the crucifix, a table of colors. I stared at his sad and mournful face, as he bowed his head in shame…

“No,” I said, “… I don’t think she was who I thought she was either.”

3.

Purples Burg. The rain fell like the tears of a vengeful God, sweeping the night road as we approached the small town. It was seventy miles away from the nearest city, and something about it made me feel weird and queasy. Perhaps it was just the rain. “I don’t like this town, if you ask me.” The cab driver said, “Something about it feels wrong.”

And indeed, something about it was wrong. The trees were large and thick, and they glared at me as if they had faces. The roads were so neat, so white and clean... that they seemed too orderly. There was something missing. Something important. “Here we are…” The cab turned into the driveway of a large house.

It wasn’t the small hut my mom and I lived in… it was big with wide wooden doors and lit golden eyes. I walked out of the car, and then I squinted at the road. My chest felt tight, as I saw a faint figure in the road. It was a girl in a dress. But I couldn’t see her face. “Do you see that?” I asked, turning to the driver. He looked, and he said “No.”

I looked back and saw that she had disappeared.

I rang the doorbell and a woman answered. She had orange hair that was tied up on the top of her head, and gaudy golden earrings hung from her ears. Her glasses were large and sat perkily on her small nose. “Ohhh, you must be Ashley!” She said, and she beckoned me into the house, “Come in, come in… are those your things?”

I looked at the inside of the house. It was large and empty, and I thought about saying something out loud. I thought it would echo. I wondered if the figure in the road was my mother. I bit my lip, trying to block out thoughts of her, block out memories of her. She is just a ghost to me now.

I swallowed the knot in my throat, and then my aunt closed the door. She helped me take my things up to my room. We walked in the long hallway, and then she opened a door to a small basic room with a dresser and a bed with neat blue sheets.

“Do you like it? Sorry it’s so small!” She said. “It’s okay.” I said. Then she told me that she had already set the dinner table, “Come on, let’s go!”

I watched her walk away. I had never met my aunt. My mom rarely talked about her.

4.

Dinner was mashed potatoes and cold chicken .”I’m so glad you’re here… I was getting quite lonely!” She said ecstatically. I couldn’t say that I felt the same. But I was lonely. I stared at the food on my plate and plucked some food into my mouth. It had no taste. I didn’t think I could taste anything right now.

The whole dinner, she talked, and she was so happy. The more happy her words were, the more brief and cold mine were, and the more disappointed she was… the more guilty I felt.

But.

But.

5.

The next morning, it was still raining, but it was a light shower. I walked outside to look at the town. The sun streaked weakly through the clouds. “It always rains here in Purples Burg.” My aunt told me. I bowed my head, staring at the floor. It was still wet.

“So, when do you think you’ll go to school?” She asked. “When I’m ready.” I replied, and I folded my arms. She looked away. “Sorry.” I mumbled. “It’s okay,” She adjusted her glasses, “You just lost someone.” I turned to look at her, but she was gone. The door was still open, so I closed it and decided to take a walk.

I closed the door, and then I turned… and froze. I saw him. He was crouched behind a bush. He was no more than eight years old, and he wore a Fox mask. We stared at each other. I walked away, ignoring him.

6.

Two weeks had passed, and things were cooling down. I talked a bit more, and my attempts at swallowing down the memories of my mother were starting to succeed. My aunt and I had grown a little closer. I was going to school today. She made me toast and eggs with an orange slice. We ate, and talked briefly. She asked me if I was excited, and I replied “not really.”

She laughed at that, and I was surprised when a small laugh came out of me too. It was like a drop of water into a pool of mud. Things felt a little more bright. My aunt was not kidding when she said that it rains a lot here in Purples Burg. There’s only been sunshine for a few hours every day. It makes you wonder how all these trees and bushes got so big and green.

I haven’t seen that boy for awhile. But I swear I can always feel someone watching me…

I walked out of the house, and towards the school, which was only two blocks away. I had bought new school supplies and a new bag which I slung over my shoulder.

7.

The bell rang. It rang once I stepped foot into the school, and all eyes were laid upon me. It was scary. Then everyone went back to their own business. I walked over to my first class and sat in the back row. The bell rang again, and everyone poured in. I felt like an X in the midst of all these O’s.

“You’re in my seat.” Someone said, and I looked up to see a girl, standing there. She was glaring viciously at me. Shaken with fear, I awkwardly stood up and she quickly took her seat, ignoring me coldly. That glare was not human.

It was like she wanted to kill me. I paled, and the teacher walked in. “Excuse me…” He said, and everyone turned to look at me, “Are you new here?”

“Yes…” I said, “My name’s Ashley… Ashley Williams.”

“Okay. Well. Take a seat, Ashley.”

I finally took one last empty seat in the back, and people gave me weird looks.

8.

Another two weeks passed by, things were the same. Everyone ignored me, and they weren’t very hostile unless I took their seats. I didn’t know they had a seating chart. That was weird. My aunt, her name is Beatrice, and I have gotten pretty close. She seems less hyper. It was raining hard that night, but it finally stopped at around 12 am. Beatrice and I were sitting in the living room, watching a horror movie.

There was a high pitched scream, and then the television flicked to black. I turned to Beatrice, who slammed the remote shakily back onto the table top. “...Ashley…” She said, her eyes wide behind her glasses. “Um, yeah?” I asked. “What do you think of this place?” She asked.

“I think it’s… weird… I don’t think I fit very much here…”

“Me too.”

I was confused, “Huh?” She shook her head. “I moved here three years ago, but none of them have talked to me since.” She said. “You’re kidding.” I replied. “No one… at the stores, they just check my things out, not even one word.” She said softly. “That’s so creepy.” I said. “That’s why…” She looked at me, “That’s why I want to move.”

“Move where?”

“Let’s move to New York, or Los Angeles. I’m so tired of this place… it’s so solitary here!” She shouted. My eyes widened, as I watched her, she breathed heavily. The lights suddenly burst out, and she screamed hysterically. “Aunt Beatrice!” I said, trying to calm her down.

She jolted, and she whispered “Unholy.”

9.

The lights had come back on half an hour later. She had fallen asleep on the couch. I left her there. I was shaken up the next morning. Though, something weird happened the next morning. I opened the door and I saw a girl standing there, with a younger brother. I recognized that girl as one of the students at school. I went cold.

It was like talking face to face with something different, like a phantom or something. She was pretty, and she had short blonde hair with boyish looks. Her lips were pale and dry, and she was holding a plate of brownies. Her brother was also blonde, and his hair was short too. His lips were red though, as if he had just drunk Koolaid. They both looked mixed.

“I’m Rena, and this is my little brother, Ryo… we’re your neighbors next door… welcome to Purples Burg.” She smiled widely. Her eyes were warm, and I realized that she was human! Her brother too, probably.

I took the brownies, and said “Thanks!”

She nodded. “Do you want to walk to school together?” She asked. “That sounds awesome…” I said, “Just let me put this in the fridge.”

10.

Ryo ran off while we approached Cranberry street. Rena explained that it was because Purples Burg Elementary was to the left, while Purples Burg High School was to the front. “There are no cars here.” I just said. She smiled, “You just noticed?”

“Well…”

“Oh my gosh! Hi Rena!” I looked up, and saw that that greeting had come from a girl with blonde hair with royal red ribbons tied up in her hair. She had a beautiful smile, and two boys and another girl walked behind her. They all looked equally beautiful… like androids. I grimaced. The other girl was the one who had glared at me.

She had soft brown eyes and chestnut brown hair with red lips and cherry earrings. The taller boy of the group wore a muscle shirt which accentuated his lean muscles, and his jeans fit snugly on him. The shorter one was skinny and looked… artistic.

His hair was a deep black, and he had icy blue eyes. He wore a plain short sleeved shirt that was black, and black shorts with chains. Geez.

“Hi Kelsey, Chelsie, Dave and David!” Rena said. I barely stopped myself from laughing. What was next? Freddy and Kenny?

“Who is this??” Kelsey asked. “Yeah, she’ cute.” Chelsie said. I glared at her. She looked away awkwardly. “I can’t disagree with you on that one!” The tall guy said. “Oh shut up, Dave.” Kelsey sighed, and she put her arm around his.

“These are my friends… this is Ashley, she just moved here.” Rena laughed. They all scrambled around me excitedly, and we began to walk to school together, as a group. I was being integrated in. They complimented my hair, my clothes, my teeth, my face, my bag, my book, everything. I felt like a full blown celebrity by the time we split up to go to the first class.

Chelsie and I walked. “Where’s your seat?” I asked, smiling coldly. She frowned, and said “It’s over there, hey, come sit next to me.”

“Huh?”

She tapped her neighbor’s shoulder, and he looked up. “Oh, hi Chels, what’s up?” He asked. “Hey Jonathon, can you switch seats with Ashley.. for today?” She said. He looked at me, and nodded. “Okay.” He said.

I sat next to her, and everyone talked to me during class. We whispered and threw notes at each other.

Something about it… didn’t feel quite right… though.

Part two: Ceremony

1.

Four weeks had passed, and I had grown close to everyone here. I knew them, but at the same time, I felt like I was being alienated. Sometimes, I couldn’t even breathe. It was like they wanted to know everything. And by now, they did… now that I thought about it. My aunt stopped freaking out, and instead, she was clamoring about how they had invited her to the annual Purples Burg Blues Festival and to all the church meetings. “That’s wonderful!” I said.

It felt like I had lived here my whole life, and memories of life in the town I had lived in before were fading quickly, like dirt off a pair of jeans. That was rather harsh… but…

“Hey.” Dave said. I turned, and looked at him. He gave me that movie star smile of his. I smiled back. We were alone. Chelsie and Kelsey had to go over to Chelsie’s house to fix a science project, and Rena had detention for talking too much in class. David was at football practice.

The afternoon buzzed, and Dave looked me in the eyes. I blushed. It couldn’t be that he was flirting with me, right? He was with Kelsey. And I could never really compare to Kelsey. She was beautiful, smart and funny. She was always the leader of the group and she always talked to me like we had known each other for years.

“Yeah?” I asked. “What do you think about me?” He asked. We went into my house, and sat in the living room. “I think you’re sweet, nice and funny.” I said. His eyes delved into mine, and I realized how empty they looked. “I think you’re amazing.” He replied. “…Really?” I asked, barely resisting the urge to melt into him.

I mean… he was Kelsey’s boyfriend… but he was drop dead gorgeous! And I was just human! And he was flirting with me, of all people!

Then he kissed me, and I automatically kissed him back. He was about to pull away, but I tugged at his zipper. “W-what are you doing?” He asked. “What do you think I’m doing?” I said. He tried to pull my hand away, but I unzipped his jeans and pulled them to his knees.

“Ahh…”

I reached in and grabbed his gender, then began to pump it. “Nn…” He twisted and his breathing became heavy, until he came on my hands. “What was that?” He asked. My eyes widened, when I looked into his eyes, first it was from shock and fear… I had just betrayed my own friend… guilt washed over me… then it was from pure surprise.

Because I realized then how empty and almost soulless his eyes were before.

2.

I made him leave at once. I wouldn’t even talk to him. He understood. But he kept asking me what we had done. Smart ass, I thought bitterly as I turned back to my door, He knew! Then something rustled in the bushes, and I turned around. I almost screamed, it was that little boy again, crouched behind the bushes. My whole body dripped with fear. Who was he? What would he…

He ran off. “Hey, wait!” I shouted. I ran after him. He ran swiftly, like a real live fox, and then he turned into a corner. I turned, and then froze. Twilight bled over the warm sky, and rain began to fall again. I swallowed my breath… and I saw something in the distance. It was a person… on the floor. I walked over to them, my legs as cold as ice.

It was a woman in a white dress. My heart was about to burst. “A-are you okay?” I asked. She wasn’t bleeding… or anything… just on the floor like she had been hit… I looked around. I reached out to touch her, but a cold hand gripped my wrist. “Agh!” I cried.

But that was nothing compared to the fear I felt when I saw her face. It had been completely burned off.

“Fucking shit!” I swore, and I tried to wrench back, but she held my wrist. “Help!” I shouted. Then she threw me on the floor, it hurt and I scraped my knees. Blood dripped on the cement, and now it was raining harshly. Every window in every house began to glow with warm yellow lights, and I wanted to cry. Water dripped off my face, as I realized that

I was alone.

3.

“Ashley!” I heard someone shout, and I looked up. My heart plummeted into the bottom of my stomach. It was Rena, Kelsey and Chelsie. I stood up shakily, and they went over to help me. “Are you okay?” Rena asked. I nodded, and I couldn’t look at Kelsey in the eyes as she helped me onto her shoulder. She smelled sweet, like clovers and daisies. I swallowed my breath.

They laid me down on my sofa, and my aunt went to fetch some bandages. “What’s wrong?” Kelsey asked. “Yeah, what happened?” Chelsie said. Rena just looked at me with her eyebrow raised. I gave your boyfriend a hand job and I got attacked by a monster on the street, but other than that, everything’s as fine as unicorns and rainbows!

Could that woman have been my mother? The mere thought of it struck me, and I quickly began to bury it again, but to no avail. I burst into tears. They all comforted me and soothed me. Kelsey took my chin and looked me in the eyes. It was one of the most painful experiences of my life. “Whoever hurt you, I’ll kill them.” She said. And I realized how deathly serious she was. Her eyes were full of hate.

Now that I thought of it… what had her eyes been full of before? I thought of times where my friends had happy eyes. But they had happy smiles.

“Nothing.” I whispered, “I’m just tired… I tripped and fell on the street.”

After my aunt came with the bandages and disinfectant, Kelsey snatched them from her hands and began wrapping and cleaning my legs. I felt horrible. I wanted to cry some more, but I didn’t want to. I never wanted to cry again. I looked, and saw Chelsie staring at me. She smiled, and I looked at her. I looked closely at her.

Yes. She had smiled like that all along.

And her eyes were like that all along. And this time, I realized, that all along, she was never really smiling. Rena asked me if I was okay. I replied that I was okay now. “Thanks for all your help, guys.” I said. “No problem!” Kelsey gave me a bright smile, and I didn’t look at her. “We’ll be going now, bye Mrs. Williams, bye Ashley!” Rena and Chelsie said, and they left. Kelsey followed them. My aunt walked into the kitchen.

But then, Kelsey walked over to me. Lightning struck outside and I stared, wide eyed, at the rain falling outside of the window. “Hey,” She said softly, “Just give me the word and I’ll do it.”

Then she left, and when the door closed, I burst into tears.

4.

Two days later, I could look Kelsey in the eyes. Dave never even looked at me. But David was more close than usual. Kelsey smiled brightly, and she laughed when she saw me. “Ashley!” She said, and she hugged me. The rest of the group greeted me too. We all gave hugs to each other. I looked up at Kelsey smiling, and I frowned, something wasn’t there. She looked away quickly. We walked to school, like usual.

Ryo’s brother ran off at Cranberry Street. Then we stopped, and I looked up. I choked- that boy! He was there! He stood in the middle of the road. He seemed lifeless, behind that fox mask, and I was about to call for him when a car came out of nowhere and hit him. It was a loud crash, and I heard someone screaming in the distance.

“Oh shit!” I cried, and I jumped back. “Huh?” Kelsey said. “What’s wrong?” Chelsie asked. “Yeah, why’d you freak out?” Rena asked. “Didn’t you see that?!” I shouted. “See what?” David asked. Dave didn’t talk. I looked at him, and he looked away, blushing.

“That… that boy!” I whined.

“What boy?!” Rena asked. “You’re worrying me, Ashley.” Kelsey said. “I think Ashley should get a stay at home.” Chelsie said. “No… no…” I said, and I felt faint. Maybe they were right. “I… I guess you’re right.” I said. “Do you want someone to walk home with you?” Kelsey asked.

“No, it’s-“

“It’s okay, I’ll do it.” We all looked at Dave, who smiled at me, looking at me. I realized that there was more emotion in his eyes now, something more human than in the eyes of everyone else. Everyone else. “Okay! Love you Dave, love you too, Ashley!” Kelsey said. “…N-no… wait!” I said, but they were already gone. Dave and I stood alone. The wind blew loudly, and rain began to fall on the floor.

I started crying. “Sorry,” I whispered, “I made you cheat on her.”

He grabbed my wrist, and he forcefully led me to my house. When we went in, we sat down together, side by side and silent. He looked towards the television, and I clicked it on. It clicked off. It did that a lot. I found that not many people here had TV’s and when they did, the televisions didn’t work very much.

“Ever since we .. did that thing... I’ve been hearing and seeing things.” He finally said. My eyes widened, and my still heart cracked. “What?” I whispered. “Like… like… I’ve seen things in the distance… just blurry, really blurry, but I know it’s there… and… right before, when you said you saw something, I heard a car crash.” He explained. “You did?” I almost shouted, and I turned to him. He nodded slowly, “Yes…”

“But…”

“And I liked how it felt…” He said, “Can you please tell me what you did to me?”

I almost laughed, “Are you serious?” He nodded. “That was sex.” I said. “Sex?” He frowned, “I’ve had sex with Kelsey before, and it never felt that good.”

I laughed, “What?!”

He nodded. “You take your clothes off-“ I interrupted him, “KELSEY takes her clothes off,”

“Right… Kelsey takes her clothes off, and we rub our bodies against each other, until we’re done, right?”

“…Right…”

“But what was that? That couldn’t have been sex. It felt amazing.”

“…Uh.”

“Then let’s have sex.”

“What?!” I jumped back. “What’s so bad about that?” He whispered, and he smiled softly at me. “These things are so amazing, I’m seeing and hearing new things every day, things I have never experienced the whole time I’ve lived here.. I need to see more…” He said.

And his hands reached under my shirt, massaging my breasts until he pulled my shirt off. He kissed me roughly, and I tried to pull him off, until I melted into him and gave up. He was gorgeous. He was sweet. And he smelled so nice, like daisies… Yeah… daisies and clovers…

5.

He was lying next to me, sleeping soundly. His face was a soft red and I smiled softly. What had I done? I’m such a damn slut. I looked up, and then I froze in horror. There was that boy again. He was staring at us through the mirror. I cried, and Dave jolted awake. “What’s wrong?” He asked, then he turned his head, and he cried out too.

The boy ran off.

6.

“I’ve never seen him before in Purples Burg.. honest…” Dave said. “Then… then who is he?” I asked. “I don’t know.” He replied. It was raining heavily now. We were dressed. I told him about everything, and he said “I see.” Then he lowered his head. “I don’t want to see those ugly things.” He said. “Why not? They exist, right? Because you could see him too now?” I asked. “Even though they exist.” He replied.

It was brief…

But it was real.

It was brief… but it told a thousand stories.

I stood up, and I was shaky. “Get out.” I said. He stood up, and he looked at me mournfully. His eyes were full of color and emotion. I realized that now he was alive. He was a human, just like me. “Get out..” I said.

He nodded, and he walked out the house.

7.

Thunder struck, as I was about to have dinner with my aunt. The doorbell rang at the same time, and I swallowed my breath, hoping it wasn’t Rena, Kelsey, Chelsie, Dave or David. Or Kenny or Freddy. I opened the door, and saw Kelsey. She smiled at me, her hair wet in the rain. She wore a red tank top that accentuated her slim figure and strawberry red lips. Her bows were limp but attractive.

“Why didn’t Dave come to school today, Ashley?” She asked. My eyes widened, and my body froze in fear. Her gaze caught mine. “He…” I said. She walked in closer, and she smelled like blood. Like period. I wanted to vomit. Her white hand went up, and I saw that she actually looked really ugly. At least, right now.

Her hands were so white they were pale. Her bows were so red they looked stupid, dangling in her hair. Her lips were so red she looked like a fucking clown. She smiled at me. “Then let’s have sex.” She said.

“What?!”

“These things are so amazing, I’m seeing and hearing new things every day, things I have never experienced the whole time I’ve lived here.. I need to see more…” She mimicked. “You… you…” I stepped back. She smiled, and the door was closing lightly in front of her, but her cold hand caught it, and her nails scraped down the wood.

“I like you so much, Ashley, I like you more than Dave does…” She said, “Goodbye, Ashley.”

Then she closed the door herself.

“Ashley! Come to dinner, already!” Beatrice called.

8.

I was still shaken, pale and cold as I sat in my seat. “What’s wrong?” Auntie asked as we ate… “You’re so shakey.” I shook my head, “Nothing.” Silence. “You know, the Annual Blues festival is coming in just three days.” She told me. “Really?” I asked. “Yes.” She smiled warmly.

“They don’t even do blues there… I wonder why they call it blues then…” She talked, but I could hear few things, as I was drifting off into my thoughts. But I caught those words.

“Maybe they call it the Blues… because they’re missing the Reds.” I said. “What?” She frowned. “Purple can’t be purple with only blue, purple can only be purple with blue and red.” I said. “Ashley…” She said. “Maybe that’s why they call it Purples Burg,” I swallowed my breath, “Because the blue is all this damn rain, this whole damn atmosphere, and maybe the red is blood.”

“Ashley! That’s so disrespectful!”

We didn’t talk for the rest of the dinner.

9.

I know. I would just bury it in my head. Pretend that the conversation did not take place. That would make everything better. I closed my eyes, trying to forget. To forget.

10.

I pretended to be sick and didn’t go to school for days. The usual gang came to visit me, but I ignored them as much as possible. I didn’t know what I would do. No matter how I tried, I couldn’t forget. I just couldn’t. Today was the official day of the Purples Burg Blues Festival. It was the afternoon, and there was no school, in celebration of this day.

The doorbell rang, and I swallowed my breath. A voice in the back of my head told me I couldn’t ignore them forever. I opened the door, and saw Rena. “..Hi.” I said. “Hey, I bought over a movie and some popcorn, come on.” She said, and she walked in without being invited.

I frowned and I watched her sit on the sofa. She plopped in the movie. I sat beside her, and there was silence. It was a horror movie. In the middle of a death scene, the victim was screaming horribly, and I looked at Rena.

She was looking at me. I swallowed my breath. “Sorry.” I said. “For what?” She replied. “Ignoring you.” I replied. “You can make it up to us…” She told me.

“How?”

“Come to the Blues with us… it’s going to be very fun.”

“…Really?”

“Yeah… it’ll be wonderful. We’ll be close like always…”

Slash. Slash. Slash. This was the uncut version. Blood poured into a shower drain, and a hand twitched at the screen. Horror music played, and the victim’s voice was fading out, but all the more melancholy.

“Okay.” I said weakly.

We sat there, and we watched it in silence. Until it was six o clock, the official starting time of the Blues festival. Kelsey, Chelsie, and David were waiting for us outside. My eyes widened. “Where’s David?” I asked. “Oh, he’s sick, but I think we can see him tonight at the after part-ay!” Kelsey said happily. I smiled awkwardly, looking away.

“Come on, let’s go, I don’t want to be late…” Chelsie said. Rena linked her arm around mine, and Kelsey linked her arm around the other, I accepted it with a cringe, and Chelsie linked her arm with Kelsey’s, and David linked his with Chelsie’s. It was awkward.

We arrived at the large Purples Church. I was walking with Kelsey and Rena. Chelsie had walked off with David to one of those game stalls. “Hey, do you know why they call it the Blues Festival?” Kelsey asked. “Why?” I asked.

The sun began to fade out, it was getting darker and rain began to fall, but it seemed as if the festival was prepared for it. Lights flickered on and glowed beside her. She looked majestic, powerful and beautiful. She was simply vibrant.

She looked up at the rainy sky.

“Because of an old tale.” She said. “An old tale?” I asked. She giggled. “I think you’ll see!” She laughed. “Come on…” Rena said, “They’re starting the ceremony.”

“The Ceremony?” I said, and I followed them. A bell struck in the distance, and I looked at my watch.

Exactly 12 am. Suddenly, everyone abandoned their places, the stalls were empty even for the people managing them… and everyone began to pour into the church. I walked in, despite how many people were there…

It was far from warm…

Except for something burning, on the stage of the church, in front of the Crucifix.

REVELATION ONE

“AHHH!!” Ashley screamed, she screamed so hard that she felt as if her lungs would break. There was a fire on the stage of the church, set in front of the Crucifix and everyone around her was smiling. She fell to her knees, and stared at the sight in horror. “A-Ashley…” Her aunt Beatrice held her hand out to her niece. Dave burned beside her, his skin was a crisp and ugly burnt tone, and the fire viciously licked his skin off of his bones.

Kelsey pulled Ashley up to her legs. “Come on, Ashley, you’re one of us now… you’ve got to be strong.” Kelsey said. Kelsey smiled. She had been waiting for this all along. “No.. no… fuck you!” Ashley screamed, and she backed away, but she was surrounded by the townspeople.

“It’s too late, Ashley, you can’t leave, not unless you die with them.” Kelsey smiled. Ashley stared at the burning pit in horror, the flaming spectacle bright in her brown eyes. Kelsey laughed sadistically, and stared at her friend as she reached in close. Their cheeks touched. Ashley was dizzy.

She smells like blood… and rain… they all smell like blood and rain…

Ashley stepped forward. “That’s the spirit!” Kelsey laughed, “Come on Ashley, you can do it!” She laughed so hard her beautiful blonde hair fell behind her. Her bows stayed perfectly intact. Ashley stumbled before the fire… she was so close to it that it began burning her, licking and flicking her skin.

Then she limply threw herself into the fire.

Anywhere but here. Anywhere but here.

And when Ashley was burning, the last of her life being sucked out of her, she saw the faint outline of a woman, her face was no longer burnt off, but it was just as grim and mournful. The box of memories she had locked so carefully and so persistently all these years snapped open, and the fire was nowhere near the pain and sadness she felt when she thought about all those times.

All those bitter, yet happy and sweet, memories. Like tasting a sweet lollipop after a nasty shot from the doctor.