Here it is my faithful viewers! Now we will see how Lucy's mind really ticks and operates...Enjoy the chapter guys! Make sure to review!
Monday: June 3rd, 2010 – 10:39 A.M. (Deserted Island: Outer Woodland)
He's gone…she thought in a quiet whisper as she stared off in the direction that Drake took for his pointless expedition. He's gone…all gone! Guess I didn't have to play dirty after all.
She wanted to feel happy about it, but the searing pain that was radiating within her arm said otherwise. She hissed from the torturous sensation before feeling Josh examine her wounds carefully with his nose emitting a series of sniffles. His green eyes were tainted red due to the profuse tears that he had cried and he tried to give off the same old kind smile that only made him look even more pathetic.
"Josh…you shouldn't be sad. I'll keep you safe. I'll be there for you, okay?" Lucy gave him a comforting smile as she turned into her genuine self. All Josh did in response was give her a slight nod accompanied with a grin that reeked with pity. First Mindy the girl he loved, now Drake his close brother…He felt empty like a barren turtle shell with nothing to claim to now.
"Here," he sighed with a tone of sadness "Let's try and fix you up."
"If you can…but it's pretty gruesome," Lucy hissed as he tenderly touched the mauled skin. Josh honestly had no idea of what to do…he definitely wasn't a doctor. His dad was a weatherman for crying out loud!
"Lucy this looks horrible…" he whispered helplessly after feeling the rain soak into his scalp as if he were in an ice cold shower. "I don't know if I'll be able to do anything."
Touch…
That's when it flooded Lucy's tainted and brainwashed mind. Touching. That's what she was always taught when she was with her new daddy. Touching makes everything better…it makes everything okay. "Touch?" Lucy thought as she recalled those words circulating in her shrouded mind. The fog developing from a far seemed to have slipped through her ears and into her brain by the way her thoughts resembled blurry nothings. Her brain began to rewind all of those past events from her horrifying childhood as if they were a tape without sound…a black and white film strip running in front of her eyes.
"Lucy? I think I'll be able to wrap it with something...just have to find something to use," Josh began to chuckle with his sad look beginning to finally reverse. "Here. We can go find some shelter and I can give you a coat I brought from home…I mean, you-you…you look fine but-uh…I mean…" Josh could feel his cheeks start to burn as he rambled like a flustered dork. "Ah jeez…here, let's…let's just go."
Lucy only nodded with a slight smile of understanding as Josh lifted her up with his arm tucking underneath her armpit on the opposite side. She felt her heart speed up in fear as she began to remember everything her horrible step-father did to her. However, one thing was essential when it came to the satanic child predator. Touching made everything much better…oh yes, much, much better.
"Touching? Touching helps?" Lucy whispered with her eyes glued to the grass and water dripping branches stretching overhead as she began to ask confusingly.
"What?" Josh laughed in question as he trudged to the edge of the slightly sloped hill that led to where he was resting previously. "Lucy? Are you Okay?"
Lucy only ignored him as she felt her step-father's voice chuckle within her twisted mind.
"Touch Lucy…The more you touch the more you're loved. Vice versa…if I touch you, it means I love you."
"Love…Touching means love?"
"Yes…look. I'm touching you…don't you feel loved? Don't you see how much daddy loves his new step-daughter?"
"Love…For real?"
"For real…"
"Touch means love…" Lucy started to smile lovingly as tears began to brim her eyes. The painful burning sensation began to return in full force in her shoulder once again causing her to be pulled from her thoughts with tears falling from her eyes. "Touch…makes it all better. Yes it does…all the love comes when you touch."
Josh couldn't help but start to feel strangely uncomfortable as Lucy continued to chuckle to herself in a slight daze. The rain drops fell mercilessly from the murky skies while Josh carefully escorted her under the sheltering ridge with an amused smile coming onto his drenched face. "We should be okay in here for a little while."
He placed Lucy down on the moist (but not soaked) grass and began fiddling with his government supplied sports bag. The country insignia (A blood red eagle with its wings spread beautifully) victoriously gleamed from the side of the bag in honor as Josh tried to locate any type of food…it was nearing lunchtime after all. He found everything in there…except a food source.
"Man…" Josh sighed in disappointment while slowly closing his supplied bag.
ZIIIIP…
He turned to Lucy with a bit of warmth in his comforting and usual grin as he placed his baby blue backpack upon his rain soaked lap and began searching for his Houdini hoodie (Josh was a major magic fan…) His eyes quickly lit up with joy as he quickly brought it from his dry back pack and handed it gently to Lucy's dazed body.
"Here you go Lucy," he gave her a kind look that made Lucy's thoughts begin to melt away like ice on a summer day. She graciously accepted it while sliding her arms into the cozy sleeves and zipping it up with her lightly toned fingers.
"Josh…thank you," she whispered lightly while shoving her hands into the hoodie's toasty pockets. All he did was chuckle softly with a compassionate look in his bright green eyes before leaning his back against the ridge of the overbearing cliff with his dress shirt stuck to his pale skin from the rain.
"You are oh, so very welcome Ms. Stone," he giggled in a friendly way as he brushed a few damp, curly strands of his jet black hair behind his ear.
He's taking our trust…
At first, the voice almost made her jump in fright. It resembled something…like a demonic creature the way it hissed in her brain like a bloodthirsty snake.
"What?" she spoke with fear in her quiet voice while Josh tilted his head in confusion at her sudden outburst.
Lucy! He's taking our trust! Just like…he did
The voice snarled, obviously referring to her perverted step-father. Lucy only closed her eyes tightly as the rain continued to slam against the brittle, yet delicate grass blades only a few feet away.
No…he-he isn't! He's a good boy! Josh is good! Like…Like our first daddy was!
A second and much more innocent voice cried within Lucy's mind as her two sides began to argue. Two sides…one being the young innocent child Lucy one was…and the other being a cruel heartless soul with only hurt to fill her voids...or in better words, did everything in its power to protect the inner child she used to be. Together, they made up Lucy's entire wellbeing.
No. He's just like the rest of them. All men are the same. Take…Take…Take. No giving back. Just taking…Remember? Daddy's Girl?
The snake like voice creepily whispered which made a chill run down her spine as she thought about her 'kind'…(yeah right) step-dad when she first got to meet him within their newly bought home.
"See! I got you a little something…just to say, I hope we can be friends," the neatly dressed man kindly spoke as he handed a tiny nine year-old Lucy a stuffed pink bear with plush fur and two dark purple bead eyes. Its neck had a beautiful lavender bow tied around it as it smiled lovingly at Lucy's cherubic face.
"Just you wait and see Lucy…we'll all be a family. I can be just like your first dad…You, me and your mommy. How does that sound?"
Lucy tightly wrapped her small arms around the innocent bear with a huge smile on her little face while brightly giggling. Her short, shoulder length hair was light brown and decorated with childish bows and she shook her head excitedly causing it all to sway gently. "Yay! For real? A family? Just like daddy?"
"You bet," he smiled back with a charming laugh as he patted her tiny shoulder.
Taking our trust…just like he did…All the same…Trick us, then they take…they take it all for themselves…
Lucy shivered in horror as she thought about her past events while the cold hearted serpent that was that created from her traumatized experiences slithered around her brain. She didn't want to believe such a horrible thing…Josh would never hurt her like that. She saw him staring at her in concern with a twinkle bit of hope in his eyes as he smiled caringly at her.
No! He…He's like our first daddy. Kind…and nice. Not mean. No, no. Not this time Lucy! Daddy's girl! Not anymore! No more hurting!
The small voice squeaked in her brain causing her to groan as she began to clash with her innocent inner child. Her head felt like it was going to explode with fury from the war that was being fought within it. She rubbed her hands together nervously as silent sobs began to escape her.
"Lucy?" Josh began to ask with a bit more of a cautious tone as he started to move towards her with his comforting hands placed on her trembling shoulders. "Lucy? What's…What's wrong?"
Of course she couldn't answer him because her brain felt like it was aching in the midst of a brutal battle. The annoying sounds of rain splashing against the soil sent a pounding feeling through her throbbing head as the voices ensued their nerve-racking debate.
No Love…Men always take everything! No love! Love is a lie! Love hurts and hurts…no happy endings ever, the snake like whisper screeched with its words dipped in some sort of venom as they sank into her conscience.
No Lucy! Love is pure…only bad boys hurt girls like us. But Josh is different because he's not a bad boy! Josh will give you you're happy endings! The nine year old spirit within Lucy began to cry with peaking joy.
That's when she heard it again. That voice that reeked with sick fantasies and twisted lies. The voice of her infamous step-dad.
"See…See how much I love you? When I touch you…it's my way of showing you my love Lucy."
"Then…How come…How come it always hurt? Does love always feel like this?" Lucy asks in a scared little whisper as she clutched the sides of her head with her hands. "Or maybe…maybe it's supposed to hurt!" She screamed in a deliberate outburst which made Josh scramble backwards into the damp ridge like a frightened stray cat. It all started to make sense to her now…no matter what, men will hurt you in the end.
Lucy!? No! Josh is like the prince in the fairytales! He's a kind boy! He won't hurt us! He'll give us our happy endings!
"No…" Lucy whispered as she began to smirk in a sinister fashion. It was like her snake like demon was beginning to shine through once again like she did with Drake and everyone else. The little girl that Josh had talked to and trusted…was long gone and covered up with dirty lies and sickened intentions. Josh merely looked at her in horror as she continued to gaze upon him with that same smirk plastered onto her face. She actually began to resemble one of those creepy porcelain dolls with a blunt expression as well as a slight yet strange smile.
"Lucy?" he started to croak in a nervous way as the thunder from the thick gray skies started to fiercely boom with force. He had no idea what happened to the girl he was talking to on the log this morning. What happened to the girl who kept smiling at him with a genuine feeling attached to it? What happened to the true Lucy?
He would never know…all he knew was that she was gone, and the conniving temptress was back with a heart filled with vengeance. "You're all the same," she sighed with a small dark chuckle leaving her slightly open mouth. Josh only looked at her in a completely lost way as he continued to laugh in misunderstanding.
"What do you mean?" he asked with his face beginning to turn back into his exuberant and cheerful glow that made the small innocent soul within Lucy to jump to the surface. But not this time…they all lie. They always try to take your trust by being nice, and then they use you. They hurt you. They destroy you…until they're bored of you, and that's when they beat you.
"Rotting pieces of garbage…all of you men are just that. Take, take, take…but no giving back," she sighed with an evil sneer while slowly raising herself suspiciously until she was supporting her weight upon her knees. They sank into the fresh blades of green grass while Josh did nothing but blink a few times in confusion; still not understanding what she was saying.
"What? Take? I didn't take anything. I'm not planning on taking from you…but I'm still confused on what I'm 'taking' exactly," he slowly spoke in order to coax a certain answer from the troubled young girl. But all she did was shake her head in disappointment while her hair shook slightly upon her covered shoulders.
"Tsk-Tsk…Josh, almost trusted you. Now that would have been a big mistake. Especially considering the situation we're in."
"Lucy…Lucy! I don't understand what you're saying! What do you mean 'Almost trusted you'? I thought…I thought you and me were finally going to be friends."
"Yeah…right. I'm sorry to disappoint you, but the numbers of contestants is getting lower…which means, the stakes are just gonna keep getting higher. What will happen when it's just me and you Josh? I'm not sticking around to die with you. I plan on winning the competition…you were nice and all, but I know what you truly are and I'm not letting anyone distract me from getting the big prize," Lucy explained with a faint smirk on her shining lips that were tainted with cold raindrops.
Josh was simply stupefied and his entire body felt like it had been thrown under a bus. Lucy was betraying him…he should have seen it coming. "Damn…Drake…h-he…he was right about you all along! Y-You're nothing but a liar! A cold, lying murderer!" he gasped in horror while crawling to his two drenched feet that felt the ice cold rain soak through his socks.
"So? Why are you so upset? You told me didn't you? You wanted to die peacefully, right? Well," it was all like a fast paced scene in an action film to poor Josh as he stood there with a terrified expression while his mouth formed a speechless 'O'. Lucy had his lethal gun in her grasp and she was raising it up to his heaving chest with a wide smile on her face. "This…won't hurt a bit. Maybe for a quick second. But…then you'll be free like everyone else that died here."
How? How did she get it? I had it in my bag right next to my coat and- Oh god…It must fallen out once I took out the jacket! Josh screeched hysterically in his head as he backed away in cowardly fear as Lucy's finger began to place itself upon the cold trigger of the gun. Before he knew it, he tripped backwards out into the pouring rain onto his back with a thud and a pained groan escaped him. His usually calm and peaceful expression was now replaced with one filled with fear and regret.
"Die…and be happy with God. You were cool. I won't forget you Josh," she sighed with a wide grin on her face as she emerged from within the shelter causing the sudden downpour of miserable rain to drench her form once again, making the hoodie Josh gave her useless.
"No…Please! Lucy! Please don't you- You don't know what you're doing!" Josh cried with tears forming within his soft and comforting eyes which reflected pain and hurt. Lucy only felt a small hint of horror within her chest as she looked straight into those eyes. The eyes that made her feel safe. The eyes that reminded her of her real father. The ones that made her see what she wasn't seeing before.
"I think it's because when I look at you. You're eyes are just so cold…almost empty."
"My eyes?"
"Yeah…but, it's like their sad. Sometimes it's like that's all you have in them."
"Sad…You notice all of that? Just by looking at my eyes? Josh…don't be a hallmark card, please?"
"I'm…I'm not! I'm being serious…they're so sad, but so caring at the same time. Like there's a piece of you that no one has seen before…like a lost little girl waiting to be found."
Lucy almost felt her heart break as she watched the soaking wet boy continue to sob frantically with his black hair tossed about his head.
Lucy…Josh is a nice boy…not like 'him'. Josh is different…Josh will give us all of our happy endings…
"Lost people…He-He doesn't think…I'm bad," Lucy felt her voice tremble as a feeling began to arise within her once more. It made her stomach twist in ways that made her feel like she was going to explode and her arm holding the gun shook wildly as if she entering some sort of seizure. However, she simply felt remorse and it was all thanks to her younger and untainted soul coming back from within the thick darkness of her heart. The innocent little girl was back…her eyes trembling with tears as she dropped the gun in horror while dropping to her bare knees. "Josh…I'm sorry. I-I'm so sorry!" she sobbed authentically with her brown eyes beginning to release her tears of innocent affection.
Josh looked at her in a daze with his eyes trembling madly as he shook his head in an absolute panic. "No! I…I can't t-trust you. I was stupid…stupid for believing you Lucy!" Lucy couldn't believe the things she was hearing…she trusted him. He made little Lucy feel safe. Safe just like her first dad did.
Her head shook in an upset while tears flew from her eyes just like the rain falling around her. "No…No…I-I want to be with you Josh. It was the bad side…The mean side. It tries to protect little Lucy! Oh yes…tries to hide her away from all of the bad boys. That's what everyone sees…the bad Lucy. She only comes out when she's trying to protect me…little Lucy," she smiled insanely as tears ran down her flushed cheeks. Josh was completely lost in every way imaginable. Bad Lucy? Protect…Little Lucy? Hide her Away?
Something troubling was going on with her, but Josh never wanted to know what in the hell it was. He just wanted to run…run fast and far from this crazed girl known as Lucy Stone. "No! I don't know what's wrong with you Lucy! But I know one thing…and that's the fact that you're freaking crazy!" Josh screamed as she advanced towards him for a hug, but he swiftly and roughly pushed her away in resentment. As her body flew to the ground; splashing into a deep puddle, she felt her eyes begin to water in overwhelming sadness. The icy puddle splashed violently around her from her impact and made a shiver run through her arched spine.
"Crazy?" she whispered as the sadness began to take her over. "But…you promised. You promised to be with me! My eyes! Remember! You said that I was different!" she began to wail in desperation while Josh merely backed away in horror. "See! I grew breasts for you! I-I matured! Lucy can feel the love now! I can f-feel it! Please! Don't go…D-Don't."
"I…I'm…No! You're just like everyone says! I didn't want to believe them…but you really are like what everyone says!" he cried in response while the thunder continued to intensify in volume and the lightning shines through the thick sheet of black clouds overhead. He almost felt sick to his stomach as Lucy began to feel her chest with tears flying from her vulnerable face. Josh raised himself up onto his soaked feet while grabbing the gun Lucy had dropped as he trembled madly in an attempt to get away from the strange girl. Lucy's hair flew around her as she shook her head pleadingly with regret in her eyes. She couldn't lose him…not again.
"Please…" she whispered with horror in her voice as she began to raise her hand up to him in a longing manner. "Don't go…not like last time."
Josh only backed away step by step with his eyes glued to her in unbelievable fear before taking a deep breath of the damp smelling air. "Stay away from me…" was all he said before turning on his heel to leave at full speed. Lucy almost felt her heart shatter into a million tiny pieces as she watched him jet off into the forest trees.
"No…y-you…You promised! Promised your little Lucy you'd stay with her!" she screamed as a series of choked sobs flowed from her quivering lips.
Go after him Lucy!
The little girl within her cried in hope.
Don't let your prince leave you! Not like daddy! Never like daddy! He left us and then we were with the bad man! Go Lucy! Go get him!
Lucy only smiled as the voice cheered inside her disturbed mind. "Yes. Josh can't go…I have to go after him." She laughed with her sobs flying in-between her uplifted words. "Lucy knows…men always take the trust…and then they leave you. Not this time. Oh no…Lucy will get her prince…her happy ending."
In fact, Lucy never had a very happy beginning either…or that she knows of. Ever since she could vividly remember, all she received from her loving new king that was brought in through her queen's (mother's) new marriage was punches, kicks, curses that spurred tears and all the hurt. However, Lucy understood. She knew that it meant love…she knew that pain and hatred really created a beautiful thing call passion, but also she realized that lying and taking was an entirely new method of keeping yourself from being hurt.
Lucy remembers doing the exact thing in the Seventh grade…a small wannabe thug in their school named Wayne Wayne (yeah…pretty intimidating) instilled fear in many of his classmates due to his horrible reputation, from gang fights to various rape cases he was involved in.
On one spring afternoon, he managed to get into a fight with Simon Cooke and his loyal henchman, Ned. Who knows what it was over; territory…a turn on the park swing…who knows. Owen wasn't anywhere to be seen though. He never did like getting involved in fights anyways. He always was the stand-offish type of guy who thought unnecessary violence was, as he would say "whack" and completely stupid.
Surprisingly, the fight became pretty close. The punches were too swift to spot as if they were a boxer's jabs and the boys began to resemble haunting vampires by the way their blood began to flow from their bruised lips. Lucy stood by the great huge tree by the school gate's entrance with a simple grin on her face as she surveyed the interesting fight.
Everyone had already gone home due to the fact that it was four o' clock by now and Jade, Grace and Molly were all off doing their duties upon the grimy streets of New York to probably make her proud. However, Jade couldn't care less and probably ditched to go hang out by the alleyways and Molly was still becoming a newbie to the entire street gang thing which meant she probably chickened off to go home. The only honorary member of Lucy's tight knit gang of bad girls was Grace King…the bubble gum popping, gossip queen. Too bad she's dead, but that has nothing to do with this little story.
Lucy watched intently from underneath the cooling shade of the tree as Wayne Wayne and Simon began to duke it out with nothing but their bloodied fists. Ned was on the concrete ground, bawling like a baby as his mouth emptied at least a pint of blood like a crimson waterfall. Right hook. Left Hook. Sucker punch!
After about two minutes, the crude individual known as Simon was groaning in pain on the ground along with his other gang pal."Looks like I won pussies," Wayne sneered as he lifted his bruised and blood smeared arms up in victory. His oversized sweat shirt stretched over his entire body, making him look like some cliché rap artist who's begging for attention. His uniform was underneath of course, but Lucy thought only an idiot would wear something like that in the middle of April. His eyes were obscured by a pair of expensive sunglasses while his face became shrouded in a shadow offered by his bright green baseball cap shielding off the sunlight. "If you ever wanna get your asses kicked again…you faggots know where to find me."
"Were they bad boys?" a young twelve year old Lucy asked in a flirtatious tone while emerging from her spot under the overbearing tree. "Did you hit them because they couldn't hit back? Oh man…I can relate. I can't hit but I get smacked all the time," she laughed with her arms folded over her chest. Wayne Wayne only gave her a scrunched up look that made him resemble a type of lemon that basically said "Fuck off!" But instead, he only tilted his head and nodded past her indicating that she better get lost.
"Beat it Stone!" he panted with his cheeks glistening with sweat. Probably due to that oversized oven he's wearing… The two boys around him continued moaning and writhing in pain; totally unaware to what was happening around them.
"Why? My mom hits too. She hits me because he does…she knows. He hits me all the time because I can't give him what he wants anymore…no more love for Miss Stone I suppose," she sighed with her head shaking in disinterest causing her short shoulder length hair to lightly swing around her face. Locks of red and black lightly grazed her smooth and flawless cheeks. It was strange…her eyebrow looked split. Her lip looked cut like it had been ripped by a beast. Her forearm had a miserable bruise that seemed to shine in the hanging spring sun. "I saw what you did to those idiots a few minutes ago…Cook and Bigby. You fucking took those losers down no problem. However, I have a more difficult proposition for you Mr. Wayne…a pretty big one. I'll even let you hit me if it turns you on…as long as you promise me…a for real promise."
Daddy promised he'd stay with his little Ladybug, but he just left me…left me and my mom with the bad man known as my step dad Then, Lucy saw…she saw him lie! She saw him lie, take and hurt! Oh…yes she did. He just kept on taking like a greedy pig! Took and took! Lied and Lied! But guess what Daddy's little Ladybug learned? She learned how to take…oh yes. Just like this pervert took everything from me…Payback's a bitch!
Lucy was as right as rain…she seduced the infamous thug, Wayne Wayne that very night with a little thing called lies. She filled his head with fantasies that she would fulfill whenever he desired, but she labeled it with a hefty price. She used her newly formed tongue of evil to lie so that she could get whatever her heart desired. Just like her step dad did to her. It was all just a game of Cat and Mouse.
Trust First…Always lie so that they give you their trust…Then you take control…You take it all…poor little fools just don't get how the system works.
Lucy was able to sweet talk Wayne Wayne into killing her father the next day through a deal. He kills her dad and he gets full visitation rights to her body…He broke into their house while they were asleep in the early morning as Lucy left for school. Usually, she would receive a beating before leaving for something like not making them breakfast or cleaning the house from dawn till sunrise. Weird…this must have been a rare exception for her as she trotted out the door in her Garside uniform with a sinister smile on her cold face.
Wayne Wayne sneaked upstairs with the pocket knife he used in gang fights clutched tightly in his hand and jumped them in their beds. Stabbing the man in the throat as he jerked awake like a shocked dog. Lucy's mother woke up in hysteria as she witnessed her husband being slain brutally; blood spraying everywhere like a wide fanned sprinkler. She dashed from her blood soaked bed in her soft pink night gown with cries of terror leaving her throat whilst Wayne Wayne continuously thrusted the scarlet red stained blade in and out of the howling man's throat and heaving chest. His screams soon became consumed with gurgling pleads for mercy as blood bubbled from his mouth.
Mrs. Stone had managed to finally make it to her phone in the study which used to belong to her previous husband, but Wayne Wayne simply leapt off of the bed making the man's body slump into the blood drenched mattress like a limp doll. He ran over to the door of the study with his entire body covered with his victim's dark red blood while the frantic woman was beginning to phone 9-1-1 before she felt a horrendous sting in her back side that almost felt like a burn…but she knew it more than anyone. He had the knife deeply planted in her back as she screeched in utter pain before sinking to the floor. Blood spurted from the wound; turning their glamorous white carpets into a satanic hell type of color. As time went on, he kept slamming the crimson red tip of the knife into her body until his arm gave out and then he knew it as she began to breathe her final breaths. He did what Lucy wanted to be done. He killed her parents.
He stood there in the middle of the bedroom with his pocket knife dangling at his side as his chest rose in slow motions. The blade was dripping with the married couple's blood and the red liquid sank into the carpet's fabric as he surveyed his work with an impressed chuckle leaving his throat. "Mission accomplished."
However, everything was shattered as soon as he heard the horrific sound of police sirens. They grew louder…and louder. The delinquent merely stood there in bewilderment without an idea crossing his mind of what to do as he heard the sirens suddenly silence just outside with the voices of armed policeman conversing through their walkie-talkies. "W-What!?" he hissed in distress as he whipped his gaze all over the room which began to reek from the stench of blood lust and death. "How the hell am I going to cover this up?"
"This the NYPD! We've got the place surrounded! I repeat! It is futile to resist!" one of the policeman (maybe it was Officer Vega) hollered into a megaphone which rang through Wayne Wayne's ear. Within minutes he was escorted from the crime scene in handcuffs that were horribly cutting into his blood stained wrists. CSI teams swept through the house like an army of rats, investigating every nook and cranny in order to scavenge every single tidbit of evidence they could get their gloved hands on. Reporters and nosy neighbors were gathered around the front yard of the Stone household with numerous gasps and shrieks leaving their gaping mouths.
Then Wayne Wayne saw her. Near the back of the gathering crowd, leaning against a brick wall with a sly grin that was just faint enough to be captured…was the twelve year-old Lucy. Her pear phone was gripped in her cream colored hand and the screen gleamed in the morning sunlight and on the screen were the numbers, 9-1-1…
She framed him…she set him up from the get go, but Lucy would have thought he'd be more discreet with his killings, or business. Oh well, it's not her problem. She watched as he stared straight into her cold eyes with a horrified look on his face. "That bitch! She set me up! Over there! Unbe-fucking-lievable! Bitch played me! No one plays me like that!" he continued to scream as the policeman pushed him roughly into the backseat of the parked cop car. All she did was scoff in amusement.
"Too bad."
Everyone whispered murmured confused things to each other such as "What in the world?" or "Who knows," while the entire scene continued to play before them.
The ambulance rolled out the house with two body bags intact causing everyone in the crowd to burst into a chorus of sobs and fearful cries. Lucy only chuckled before rolling her eyes. Moron…I told him to off my dad…not my mom too. Ah well, guess I'll be parentless.
"Such an adventure. Orphaned and only twelve? My, my…what will ever happen to little Lucille Stone?" Lucy cooed with her phone still held in her tanned palm with a sly smile still on her face.
Damn! Damn! Damn!
Josh's mind was blank as he ran past the trees which were trickling with beads of rain water. He had no clue of where to go. Everything was shrouded in a damp and gray mist that enveloped the heart of the forest which only made things ten times harder for him in the end. "Over there! C'mon! Anywhere's fine…just gotta get away from-"
"Josh? Josh please! Come back! Don't leave! Don't leave me with the bad man! Not like daddy! Please!" Lucy wailed making her hysterical voice echo throughout the woods only making him feel even more terrified.
"God…leave me alone! Go away!" he screeched as tears began to moisten the edges of his eyes while he sped blindly through the woods. His feet pounded against the sopping wet piles of sickly yellow leaves that littered the grounds as he barreled through the thick foliage until he made it to a cliff of some sort. It was a cliff that had an old tree hanging over the edge and in short terms…it was a dead-end. "No…No, no, no, no, no!"
He was trapped and he felt like his stomach was about to blow from sick fear. Lucy was barely that far away and if she found him…He didn't even want to think about the horrific topic. Maybe…Maybe if I…no. That would never work. Drake! I'm sorry! I should have listened to you! You were right! You're always right about, well…people! And now…I'm paying for it. He groaned in his head as he sobbed desperately before springing around in shock after hearing something behind.
Lucy jumped out of the foliage and was standing right there in front him. There were only a few feet of rain drenched grass patches separating them…and Josh wanted to keep it that way. "Josh? See? I won't ever leave you. You make the little Lucy in me happy…I feel…I feel happy again. Please? Please don't go," she pleaded with a desperate smile on her soaked face: it was hard to tell whether her face was masked with tears or rain, but it didn't matter to Josh one bit.
"Stay away Lucy," he whispered with a furrowed brow as he stepped back wards cautiously. "Don't come any closer."
She only gave him a look of disbelief before laughing in a way that made it seemed like he cracked some priceless joke. "What? B-but…you promised Lucy…a for real promise."
She began to laugh pathetically before moving closer. "Stay back! I'm warning you!" he cried out of pure terror that was eating away at his mind while taking a few more steps back with his gun pointed at her. The rain only fell down in a larger quantity, making them both look like they had just been submerged in the ocean. The rumbling thunder from above grew louder and the lightning became blinding.
"No! Lucy needs love! I-I…I need my happy ending! It's not fair! I…I want my…I-I want you!" she hollered with a tear stricken cry leaving her mouth. It all happened so fast. Before anything could register in either of their minds, Lucy leapt forward with her arms stretched open wide as if she was longing for a welcoming embrace. "You promised…promised to be there. Forever and ever! Give love to Lucy! Help me feel the love!"
In absolute shock, Josh staggered backwards in a last resort due to instinct and natural reaction as she flew towards him. He felt his weight fall back and his eyes opened wide in horror. Lucy fell to the ground, her head and arms dangling over the edge as she groaned from the harsh impact her cheek had with the ground after falling. However, Josh's body was descending from the cliff like an anvil being thrown from the skies.
He felt the air rush past him while he fell with the rain drops merely tapping his face lightly like tears from above. His eyes were still open wide in horror as he started to realize what was he happening…he was falling to his death.
No! Not…Not now…He cried in his head horribly as he swung his arms around in order to grab something. Anything that he could hang onto to keep himself from landing onto the ground like a flattened pancake. The only downside? There was nothing to hold onto too. He thought of his brother for one last time…Drake Parker, his best friend and worst enemy. Overall, his closest friend.
He remembered the time they watched their teacher's vicious dog, Tiberius. Man that was a crazy night.
He remembered the time when they shared that magic, lucky shirt so that Drake could break up with this annoying, giggly girlfriend and Josh could date a gorgeous model.
He remembered when they accidentally ran into Oprah during her live show and they spent an entire day trying to visit her in the hospital. Josh stil feels the sting those tasers from those two bodyguards gave him to this day.
He remembered when Drake would always perform in the school quad with his electric guitar and at the end of every performance he would pull Josh up on the stage and say how much he inspired him.
Everything felt like a special moment…and now they would only be distant memories.
"We'll meet up again…okay?"
"Right…but make sure you bring this back with you."
"Drake? Wait. How are you going to protect yourself?"
"Trust me, you need it a lot more than I do. Maybe put your Call of Duty tactics to the test."
"Drake…" Josh started to cry with his usual peaceful smile emerging on his face as he felt gravity continue to push him downwards while the rain sprayed his body. "I'm gonna miss you brotha…never going to forge-" Josh couldn't even finish his sentence due to the fact that his head met the moist soil of the ground at last. His neck snapped almost instantly from the contact which made his eyes go wide from the sensation and his entire body hovered in the air as if he were doing some kind of handstand…more like a headstand. His feet and legs dangled in the air above him for just a few more seconds before they slowly fell down like a pair of collapsing trees. His back and spine arched as if he were a possessed demon and his feet slammed into a huge puddle which splashed tremendously.
His eyes were staring up at the black clouds in the roaring sky and he still had his smile stuck on his face while his entire body looked like some kind of arch for a tunnel. His arms were limp at his sides and his pale, yet kind hands were submerged in various murky puddles surrounding him. His usually peaceful and serene face was now facing the sky with his mouth slightly open as if he were about to finish saying something. The rain continued to shower his body continuously but one thing was imminent…Josh Nichols…the galaxy wars fan…the video game geek…the Oprah Winfrey admirer…was dead.
Boy # 20: Josh Nichols (ELIMINATED)
16 Students Remaining
Monday: June 3rd, 2010 – 11:08 A.M. (Deserted Island: Forest Ledge)
Lucy's cheek almost felt like it had been punched right in the center as she slowly groaned in pain. She felt her arms dangle over the edge of the life-ending cliff while the rain smacked her entire backside roughly. The horrible winds that were forming were whistling loudly and violently while the young teenage girl began to lift herself up with a terrible sound of misery leaving her parted lips.
Her groggy eyes were gradually beginning to open as she stumbled back as if she had tripped over something; landing on her rear. Her vision was blurred horribly and as she squinted she could barely make out the distant shapes of the mountains and hills…or maybe it was because they were engulfed in a pale gray mist. Whatever…Lucy merely shook her head in order to gain her sense back and opened her eyes wide to regain her vision.
As everything began to return to normal she almost started to laugh at how weird this entire ordeal was. Until she figured out one devastating fact. Josh was nowhere to be found!
"What the-" she began with her eyes opening wide in terror while diving to the edge with her hands clutching the ground so that she would topple over and fall to her death. Her eyes scanned the depths of the land underneath her while her soaked hair hung loosely over her head. "Josh!" she screamed into the vast space below with hysteria in her voice. She squinted crazily in order to hopefully catch a glimpse of the boy she referred to as her savior. The one she knew could her at last, but soon after squinting her tear-filled eyes to search for Josh, she finally spotted him…and it was not the image she wanted to see.
She saw his body arched up as if he were pelvic thrusting the damp air and his head seemed flat against the muddy ground. How is that possible? It was as if his entire neck had been bent forward in extreme proportions. Lucy saw his smile that she saw when he first began to talking with her. She spotted the kind and comforting nature within his lifeless, wide green eyes that were staring straight up into hers.
"No…Oh God. Josh…n-no! Please don't leave me! N-No!" She shrieked with sobs flying out of her mouth along with her grief stricken words. "Y-You promised! P-P-Promised…L-Lucy!"
All Josh's small distant pair of empty eyes did was look right at her in a far off manner like her dumb pink stuffed bear would. "Can't be…Y-You can't be gone," she sobbed horribly into her hands as she buried her face into them while her body shook from the cries she was giving. "You…were the only one. Only one who…who understood Lucy's pain. N-Now…Now you're gone! Just like my first daddy! Gone! All because of me!"
Not sad? No sad eyes Lucy!
She felt his voice go through her; offering comfort for her troubled mind. Lucy felt her tears slowly downplay it a little after hearing his voice and let out a few sniffles. "Huh?" she babbled while letting out a few choked sobs.
Remember Lucy? You're not so bad. I told Drake. Told him…not so bad.
His calm voice laughed peacefully while Lucy brought her messy face from within the safety of her hands and gazed over the edge of the slippery, grass cliff, Josh's body once more. "Josh?"
"You know? Really bad people…they can never look like that. Their eyes? Never like yours. So I know you can't be as bad as everyone makes you seem…I think you're just lost. Like I said before. And sometimes Lucy, lost people tend to act out-you know? They do bad things because it gives them a rush…a rush that fills that void of being alone."
Lucy's eyes brimmed with joyous tears as she heard these words and began to lightly laugh in happiness. "Yeah…alone…lost…all true Josh. All too true."
She gazed down at his body with sadness still left in her tight-feeling chest as she thought of the boy she considered to be her one true prince and what he wished for.
"I just hope that when I die…it's going to be peaceful. No pain…no fear. Just a smile and a loving embrace from God."
"Josh…I won't forget you…I'll win! I'll win for both of us!" she cried as she gave off a genuine smile that seemed to shine, even through the depressing rainfall. The smile that only Josh ever got to see. "I never will forget you…never, okay?"
She rose from the drenched edge of the cliff with a feeling of determination in her heart while turning back to retrieve her things. She maneuvered through the towering trees that hid many cold and scared little forest creatures and gave off a gradual grin that radiated with terrifying evil. "I'm definitely going to win…I don't care. I'll kill everyone and anyone…I'll get off this fucking island," she growled darkly before coming across the spot she and Drake had their duel for the gun. What touching memories.
She scavenged the area with Josh's jacket sticking to her toned flesh from the sopping rain. She finally stumbled across her government supplied duffle bag which held her life depending essentials and she found her backpack and dark red colored luggage. "Bingo," she chuckled before zipping the damp suitcases open, hoping that her clothes were still somewhat dry. She obviously knew that parading around in your underwear in the rain would definitely cause people to raise their red flags, so she decided to change underneath one of the trees which offered some shelter from the rain.
As she peeled the dripping jacket from her body, the wound on her shoulder continued to throb in pain causing her to let out an agonized hiss. She carefully looked at it and realized that the bleeding had finally stopped…ignoring it was the only solution considering she didn't have anything to treat it. She simply shrugged the injury off before grabbing a few clothing assortments from her bag.
She put on a straight black crop top that seemed to reach her belly button and the fabric was extremely comforting and soft. She covered it with a dark green vest with a fur lined hood to keep her flawless hair dry…or keep it dry when it actually becomes dry. Lastly she put on a pair of gray, frayed shorts that seemed to be quite revealing in a sense. However, it didn't matter to her at all as long as she was dressed for the occasion. Besides, there were eight boys left…maybe she could lure them into her murderous grip with this little getup. "Ah…that's much, much better. Now…where did that music druggie, Parker, put my sickle? Hmm…always having to make things harder don't you?" Lucy whispered in satisfaction before stepping through and out of the sheltering woods with Josh's soaking wet hoodie draped over her arm.
As she cruised over to the overhanging ridge that seemed to have Josh's bags underneath it, she started to stuff the Houdini hoodie into her bag for safekeeping. Maybe she'll need it later…who knows? Once she approached his assortment of luggage and items, she knelt down with her fur lined hood shrouding her angelic face; giving her face an intimidating shadow and making her hair gently hang over her shoulder. She rummaged through his sports bag with quick haste and suddenly felt her- or…Trina's taser with her anxious fingers. She pulled it out with a slight smile before tossing it into her bag lightly and returned to searching for her weapon.
After feeling around the bag and scanning the interior for countless minutes, she finally found it; glistening in its glory as a few bolts of lightning struck the ground from afar…she found her deadly sickle. She slowly slipped it from the bag and rose herself from within the ridge with her blood covered weapon intact. The rain began to flow down the curved blade like a gently swooped stream as it hung at her side while she tucked a strand of red hair behind her ear and into the hood of the vest. The blood began to wash from the metallic surface of the sickle and Lucy merely stared at the water that washed her murders clean from her weapon.
She raised it high above her head with her hands gripping the decorated handle as if she were an executioner getting ready to bring down a hatchet and swung the sickle around her body like a baseball bat. Batter up!
It was like she was testing her strength in a way…getting herself ready for the fights ahead of her. She ceased her swinging with a few twisted, yet seducing giggles escaping her curved lips as she held the weapon with the blade tip pointing downward. "Hmph…and you all thought I was mean before? Oh…Oh my. Just you losers wait. You'll see how mean I really am."
With that shiver inducing threat hanging in the rain filled air; drifting up to the thick gray skies, Lucy gave off a few more chuckles of amusement and headed off into the thick foliage of the woods which held a strong and salty scent of the stormy, ravaging ocean waters. Lucy was ready…ready to kill whomever she came across so that she could win for her new and genuine friend, Josh Nichols and for her own sick benefit.
16 Students Remaining
Looks like there's going to be trouble a brewing! What did you think about the contrasting sides Lucy has? What do you think will happen now that she's even more blood thirsty than before!? Find out in the Next Chapter!
In the next episode of...The Program!We all know that Katniss Everdeen has been proclaimed victor of the 60th Annual BR Competition...but what was her life like before all of it ruined her? What is Katniss' true story? Find out in the next chapter!
Thank You for reading and stay tuned in for...The Program!