Dead Bite

Scarlet Cross

Plink. Pop. Ping

Sounds enveloped around her as they walked down the stretch of festivities, cheerful noise echoed through the town square. The loud bells & whistles and bright flashes of winning lights were a little overwhelming at first for the homebodied girl.  She had never seen anything like these up close, fosters fearing for her safety as a child from the public eye. Relief was an understatement when nobody had seemed to recognize her, finally far enough away from the city.  

  I guess that's what you get when your father is a convicted murderer though... Shaking the dreadful thought from her head, she found herself in front of the large steel trailer with awning fanned above. From its rafters hung prizes of all sizes. Bears in every color you could think of to blow up plastic hammers that you could smell from a distance. Where her anxiety once sat in the pit of her stomach now sat a new feeling; Excitement. Something so pedestrian seemed like the most awe inspiring thing she had ever laid her eyes on.  Of course this didn't sneak past Elijah's wondering eye as the girl beside him gawked. The simple game he'd played so many times it became a bore never seemed so utterly intriguing 

"I take it you've never played before, have you?",  Elijah looked down at her with a raised brow and a coy smirk plastered on his lips. Shaking her head, she couldn't take her eyes off of the acrylic rings clinging off the green glass bottles, illuminated by the bright multicolored lights above. Leaning against the rail of the game, Elijah's careful fingers slide the man a ten. Though the two had their differences, he enjoyed seeing a smile where a usual stoic expression lies. Her blank stares and sad eyes became a sight that was branded in his mind. He couldn't help but want to know more about what was hid behind those amber eyes, reflecting sadness, yet he could never find it in himself to ask.

The man placed a bucket of chipped acrylic rings in front of them, giving them a nod as she looked to him in confusion, though with a glimmer in her eyes. Elijah's grin only widened, taking one of the chipped rings between his fingers, flipping it in between, "Alright, first lesson doll, you don't want to apply to much pressure to the ring." He showed her his pinched grip on the acrylic hoop before continuing, "Next, you aren't gonna sling this bitch like its a frisbee. I may have learned that the hard way." She couldn't help but let a giggle escape her lips, god she hated how venerable he made her feel. Raw and split to the bone, exposed.  Pushing down the bubbling feeling in her stomach, she continued to listen, though being half distracted by the way his lips moved was a downfall. 

"Lastly, you just want to gently toss. Just like this, doll.",  He took the ring that was seated between his fingers, meticulously judging the distance with a slanted eye as he let go of the ring. Gliding through the air she couldn't take her eyes off the ring in anticipation. As if it had a magnet to it, the hoop settled on the neck of the glass bottle with ease. She stared amazed, captivated by how effortless he made it seem as everyone around them cursed the rings. 

Though fun things in her life never seem to last very long... 

Elijah placed the bucket of clanking rings in front of her, "Your turn now doll, lets see what you got."  Leaning forward to grab one of the chipped rings she started to feel uneasy.  The lights seemed to falter, honing in on her vison. Spinning around like a carousel inside her head, nausea set in. Her excitement slowly began to wither into anxiousness as overwhelming feeling of dread coursed through her entire being, taking over as if she were no longer the one in control.  Her body was set a flame by every nerve, searing through her entire being like venom.

A scream rang through her head like a billowing siren, shrieking as if  being branded by a scolding hot poker. Her world began to engulf itself around her, feeling as if it were in slow motion. Heaviness weighted her in place as visions flashed before her eyes, suffocating on the very air she breathed. The world faded to black around her, devouring her into its dark empty depths.