Seeing White

Chapter Three

The sweet smell of the air after rain floated in the breeze as it tickled Poppy's nose. She laid on the ground, starring into the stunning blue sky. Two birds sing a sweet tune as they glided after each other, making her laugh with amusement. she stood up to get a better view of the two before they disappeared into three leaves of a tree.

A whisper traveling on the wind caught Poppy's attention, making her tremble from the cold. She spun in a circle and didn't find anything until her eyes caught the image of something white. She squinted her eyes and could make out the image of a woman in a white dress. Poppy took a few steps closer and recognized her. "Mum!" She screams with joy and anxiety as she runs after her. "Mum!" She called again wanting her to hear.

The woman walked slowly into the near by woods, and Poppy followed. She stopped on her heels the moment she entered the forest. Every where around her was devoid of light. She turned to leave but the path had disappeared and was now covered with thick vegetation. She clawed at the trees to try and break through until she heard another whisper. She turned around only to find a masked man starring right at her, starring into her. (Detail the mask)

Her scream echoed in her mind as she opened her eyes to find herself in a hospital room. Her heart was beating fast, and a cold sweat ran down the back if her neck. She hoisted herself onto her elbows and nervously pushed her upper body to a sitting position.

"Hey there, love." Her father softly smiled and stroked her shoulder. She cringed under his touch.

"What happened?" She winced in pain as her head throbbed. "How did I get here?"

A young dark skinned girl with the usual nurse get up walked in holding a clip board and jotting down information. She kept her head down then looked up and smiled at Poppy. "Hi there, Penelope. I'm nurse Annie Todd. How are you feeling?"

"Uh- a little sore." She writes something down on her clipboard again. "Nurse? Why am I here?"

"Has no one told you?" She acted sincerely surprised. "I'm sorry hun. You were found last night, by your father, passed out on the sidewalk down the block from your house. You have a few bruises and cuts and scrapes. And you may just have a head ache." Duh. "But that's a lot better then we can say about the other girl."

Poppy starred at her father, startled. "What other girl?"

"After I told you that you couldn't go to the party," her father chimed in, "I heard gun shots outside. I ran upstairs to make sure you were safe, but you weren't there, love. I ran outside and followed the sound of the shot, with my own gun in my hand of course. I found you on the ground. Next to you was another girl, I figure your age, in a pool of blood."

Poppy looked away from him and starred at the thin blanket that covered her legs. If the shooter was trying to kill her, then he had the perfect opportunity when she was laying on the ground. But she isn't dead, and the other girl is. "That doesn't make sense." She whispered to herself.

Annie chirped in, "but you're safe, and that's all that matters. You didn't receive any physical damage that would keep you here, so you are free to go anytime you want." Poppy nodded her thanks and she turned to leave.

"Wait, who was the other girl?"

"Ivy Bush." Annie left the room.

Poppy laid her head back down and glared at the white ceiling. She took in a deep breath, rubbed the bridge of her nose and exhaled. "We have to go talk to her dad."

"'We'?'

"Have you interviewed him yet?"

"No."

"Well, then we have to go talk to him." Poppy threw off the covers and fastened her shoes to her feet. "C'mon ya slow poke. You're the officer and you need to interview someone. Seeing as the girl is dead, he's our only choice." She left the room and walked down the hall way. She opened the door of the hospital to leave, but stopped when she heard a familiar voice. She turned and found nurse Annie sitting, talking to Oliver. She was holding a little container of what looked like white paste and dipped her fingers in then rubbed it on Oliver's arm that was in a cast.

Poppy skipped over to them, surprising Oliver with a big smile. "Hey there, Penelope! Why are you here?" Oliver asked, he shivered at the cold touch of the white paste.

"Oh, just a little accident. But I want to know what happened to you?"

He shrugged and gave her an adoring smile, "I had a fight with the stairs last night. Evidently, I lost." He silently chucked as he lifted his wrapped up arm. "Oh, owe."

Poppy grabbed a hold of his good arm and helped him to his feet. "I need to talk to you for a second." He nodded and they walked a ways away from Annie.

"How was the party last night?"

Poppy sighed, "I didn't go. I was on my way when I heard gun shots."

Oliver cupped the side of her face with his good hand, "Holy cow, are you alright, Poppy? What happened?!"

She held his hand, "I'm fine. The shooter wasn't aiming for me. Someone else was killed. Does the name Ivy Bush sound familiar to you?"

His eyes widened and a look of shock covered his face. "We went to school together. I heard she was going to the party. She's the life of the party, she was always invited to any get together."

"She's dead, Oliver." She squeezed his hand to show sympathy. "The shooter was aiming for her. I crashed into Ivy. I should be dead right now, but whoever it was that killed her, let me live."

Oliver shook his head, trying to absorb everything she was telling him. "So, what are you going to do?"

"I want to find out who it was that killed her. I want your help." He sighed and shook his head. "Oliver, I need your help."

"Ugh, fine. But we'll need Annie's help, too. She's one of my friends, you can trust her."

Poppy's father pulled up his car just outside the doors and honked. "Thank you, Oliver." She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek before running to the car. Once buckled in and driving off, she turned to her father, "Let's get to his house now to interview him."

He rolled his eyes and in a mocking tone, "Aye, aye, captain."