Prologue
The cool night breeze left her face feeling cold and flushed. She continued down the darkened road toward her cottage. A faint thudding started up behind her, so she quickened her pace in fear she was being followed. As she ran she could hear the stalker quicken it's pace. Beginning to feel frightened, she felt worse as she enountered a large stone balcony over a small garden. Stone walls surrounded the garden, trapping her. A figure approached her. She had short, dark hair that covered her brown eyes when the wind whispered.
She pulled her cloak over her face and walked further into the garden. The woman not far behind. She stopped, facing the woman. "What do you want? Why are you following me?" An evil smirk grew on her beautiful face. Her voice was strong and powerful. "Kendra Jay, you must die." Her breath disapeared completely from her lungs. Her lip quivered. She ran, her cloak fluttering in the breeze, the woman was her shadow. The woman reached in her sachel and flung out knives. Kendra screamed in agony and they stabbed her shoulderblades and head. She stumbled to the ground, dead. A pool of blood surrounding Kendra's body. The woman grabbed her hair, pulling the head up. She pulled the knife from Kendra's shoulderblades. She vanished in the darkness; blood stained her hands. Kendra's head was in her bag.
All is Fair in Love and Gore
Chapter One
Cleo Helluva
"I killed her. She's dead." I swollowed hard and let out a sigh. "Where's her head?" Oliver asked in a harsh voice. "It's in my sachel." I gazed up at him, only to hang my head back down. "Why are you just standing there, Cleo? Give me the head!" A jolt of pain flowed through my cheek. I brushed it with my fingers and they were dotted with my blood.
I reached in my sachel and pulled out her head, not daring to look at it. I shifted my gaze from the floor to his face. Oliver was expressionless. He took Kendra's head and handed it to Vultar, a guard. "Put it with the others Vultar." Vultar nodded and let out a deep grunt. I looked down solemly. Oliver tilted his head and smiled. "Don't pity, Cleo. You did as told." He lifted my chin and touched his lips gently to mine. His affection for me was the only reason I stayed. I loved him, yet hated him.
His lips lingered near mine as we reluctantly pulled away. A shiver ran down my spine as he whispered in my ear, "I love you, Cleo." I closed my eyes as his lips traced a design I tried to pull down my neck. "Tell me you love me back." he growled, intimidatingly. When away, he held me to him. I stifled a whimper as he strengthened his grip on me. I knew that tomorrow there would be bruises where his fingers were. "Tell me you love me." he ccommanded, "LOVE ME!" I wanted to break under his gaze, but I stood my ground. He pulled out his sword and hit me upside the head with the hilt, knocking me to the ground. Tears stung my eyes as the blood rushed down and covered my chest. I gasped for breath as an excruciating pain filled my head. "You deserved it, you bitch." he spat. I stayed on the ground listening to his heavy footsteps leave the room.
Chapter Two
Deentha Jackson
Fabian's arm wrapped around my waste and we waited for Lily and Lance. They had said that they had depressing, horrifying news for us. I had a solemn expression pasted. Fabian looked down on me and frowned when reading my mood from my expression. "Don't fret, love. All will be well in good time." I searched his eyes for lies, but all I could find was love. Always love.
When Lance and Lily enventually entered the clearing, all of Fabian's words perished from my mind. Their faces were pale and their eyes were teary. Holding Lily's hand, Lance approached us. Lance looked Fabian deeply in the eyes. "K-Kendra is dead. She was stabbed and d-decapitated..." Lily began to sob. Lance carressed her face and spoke soothing words. "Excuse us, Kendra was one of our closest fr-friends." Lance took Lily inside our cottage; the dark wood door groaned as it closed.
Fabian pulled me close, nose to nose. "Who could do such an awful thing? Kendra hadn't done bad! At least she never told me of such... I mean it's not like she would. Would she?" I spoke in a rush. He pulled me closer, his eyes never left me. Fabian's lips touched mine; we closed our eyes lost in the moment. I melted in his arms. "I love you, Deentha. All will be well in good time, love." The night ended in love. Always love.
Chapter Three
Oliver Rush
I caressed her face in my hands as our mouths continued to fight for dominince over the other. My hands roamed her hips and mid thigh. "Vikki..." I moaned, before crushing my lips to hers again. I traced her bottom lip with my tongue, begging for entrance. She denied me; I could feel her smile into the kiss. In desperation to explore her mouth I inched my hands up onto her butt. She gasped in surprise and I took the moment to slip my tongue in her mouth. Suddenly, I felt her teeth clamp down on my tongue. "SHIT!" I cursed as I took a step back, holding my hands to my mouth. "Oliver, I'm so sorry!" she scrambled to apologize as rage grew inside me. "Damn it, Vikki."I said as I reached for the crusaders sword near the fireplace. WIth one fatal swoop her body falls to the ground, knees first. Her head rolls to my feet. I pick it up and look into her eyes and smile at how the light of life is no longer there.
Pity, I think to myself, the girl was a damn good kisser. I order Vultar to take her body out and throw it into the pond. I take her head and place it gently on the mantle to show off my new prize.
Vultar
I left out the back door with Madame Vikki's body. I stopped at thee edge of the pond and threw her limp body into it's dark, murky depths. I slowly made my way back to Rush Manor. When I reentered the room, I found Master Rush playing with Vikki's head. He carelessly tossed into the air, then caught it. When he saw me, he threw it to me. "Take her to be with the others. She was nothing special to me. Simply a toy, used only for my enjoyment." he stated. I nodded solemnly and left to take her head to the ice box.
When I entered, the smell of rotting flesh greeted me. I scrunched up my nose at the foul smell. I quickly made my way to the back shelf, not wanting to be in here longer than I needed to be. I sat her head down next to Kendra's bloody skull. It made me wonder who I would be bringing here next. I left the ice box and turned a corner only to crash into Cleo. "Madam Cleo, where are you going at such a late hour?" I asked. "I'm going to seek out the others; for soon they will all be gone."
Chapter Four
Lily Black
"What if the world is ending? What would you spend your last minutes doing?" I traced my finger along the tabletop, making my way towards him. "Holding you, of course, but I hope our love doesn't involve the world ending." He chortled. I grinned and plopped down on his lap. He wrapped his arm around me, pulling me closer. "In all the people of the world I met you. How much more lucky can I get?" He shut his eyes and leaned closer for a kiss. I let his lips brush against mine and tied my arms around his neck and he held my waist and legs. I pulled away and stood on the cherry wood floor, my hands on my hips. He looked up at me with a confused expression and grunted. "Women!" I smiled a dorky smile and smoothed back his hair. "Men." I stayed facing him, our eyes never leaving one another. I loved him. His affection, his smile, his everything! He is perfect.
Before I even realized what I was doing, it just blurted out. "Lance, I love you." I said, then I covered my mouth and blushed as red as Fabian's hair. Lance stared at me in shock and I felt like running from the house, but I stayed to my displeasure. He finally came back to reality, "Y-you what?" He blinked several times and grinned his quirky grin. "I love you, too, Lily. I always have! How couldn't I?"
A smile grew on my face and I rushed and hugged him. His eyes bulged and the chair wobbled because of the sudden impact. We screamed as the chair toppled over, I strangled him I squeezed so hard, I heard his gurgley scream as we fell! We both giggled and I crawled away. I laughed harder as I saw his expression. He seemed to have a smile glued to his face, it was big and dorky. His eyes were huge from my strangling. He cocked his head to the side, raised his eyebrows, and said, "What the hell just happened?" I shook my head as I crawled back to him. "I'm not sure if this hurt more than it loved!" I smacked my forehead, feeling dazed.
I planted a kiss on his cheek and stumbled to my feet. He put out his hand and wobbled his eyebrows. "Help me up!" Lance said in a sarcastic and diva-like voice. I giggled and pulled him up. He ran his fingers through his hair, sighing. He grabbed my head and held it to his as our lips greeted each other. He roamed my neck, forehead, and lips. I felt like I was being hugged by his affectionate smooches. I was happy to know that he loved me. I was happy Lance knew I loved him.
Chapter Five
Austin Onyda
It didn't hurt. Well, not as bad as I thought it would be. I was alone, I had no one. The emptyness in my heart didn't swell big enough to break it. I loved her. Still. That's all it can ever be. She didn't love me. Or at least she never said anything about that. I just assumed it. The ocean breeze brewed around me. Roxy was my everything. My world. But all I was to her, was another person. Roxy should've loved me. But she didn't.
At that last thought, I leaped of the cliff, arms spread, eyes closed. The thought Roxy doesn't love me soaring and whirling around in my mind. Roxy doesn't love me.
Roxy McCracken
Sure Austin was freaking hot, but still. He was insane! "I bet he's crying into his pillow, right now. Right now, big and brave Austin, is crying into his dang pillow." The thought pleased me. Austin was always a fake. I should've seen it before. That's why I broke up with him. He wasn't brave or real. "Maybe I'm wrong. I mean he's always had some kind of mental issues..." I picked a daisy and removed each petal, letting the wind blow them away.
The clearing I sat in was filled with all sorts of flowers. Daisies, baby's breath, dandilions, I loved it here! My parent's had showed me this meadow when I was really little, before they died. They died when a bus toppled over and off a cliff road as they came home from Idaho. I didn't care as much as I should've, but at the age of seven my mind was on the fact that I was at a party when my grandma came and told me. The only reason I was upset was that I didn't get to play the sleepover games. "I was so stupid." I muttered. Seven year olds can be such a pain.
I crashed down on the grass behind me and let out a moan. I closed my eyes and let whip of the grass on my face and the sounds of the meadow be a lullaby as I slept.