The Grand Viper

1. Inaugurate

Plink... Plink... Plink...

The scarlet blood clashed against the rough black surface of the road. Thick strands of hair covered her face. The blood looked equally haunting against her jet-black hair dripping from the top of her skull.

"Mom..." I muttered. The only strength I could find, I used it to call out to her.

My fingertips were wet, it wasn't water. It was much, much thicker and redder. It had a distinct smell, and I knew it didn't belong to me. Despite the same blood flowing through our veins, I could distinguish my mother's smell. It was bitter.  

I reached out my hand to touch her cold body in front of me. Straining to open my eyes a little longer, I thought I could reach her. A sting of pain ran through my left side. With my other arm, I squeezed my wound to prevent the blood flow.

"Mother..." I whispered with all my strength.

"You must live.", My sight slowly faded to black and my uneven breath suddenly came to a stop.

So this is the end?

This is how I die?

***

I jerked up from my bed. My palms were sweaty. The film of sweat had dampened my night dress. If I had something underneath, maybe it would help with it.

I shifted the weight to my feet. The floor beneath me was bare. The cold concrete helped me cool off a little. There are perks of not wasting money on extra decorative stuff.

Faint light penetrated my dull apartment walls from the molded balcony, partially because of the rain. The city was awake even at midnight. I should be asleep by now, considering the interview I have later today but my nightmares proved otherwise. This nightmare, precisely, was an occasional visitor. Every now and then, the same recurring dream made me used to it. It didn't bother me like it used to. It's becoming a part of me and I'm learning to live with it. 

I entered the bathroom and shred off my night dress, leaving me with my bare body. I turned on the shower and let the cold beads of water fall on my pale skin. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply. The air filling my lungs back and forth calmed my nerves along with the cold sensation in my body. It made it bearable.

"I have to get over it," I whispered to myself. My voice was muffled by the sound of the water crashing against the tiles. 

It was supposed to be a big day tomorrow for me. I was finally applying for a real job after working my ass off. Nights where I didn't sleep and only worked to earn some more money for my tuition fees. The days I spent studying. I think I wasn't really left with many choices after being abandoned at a young age. And to make matters worse, I had to get off of my father's debt at the same time. No matter how many debts I thought I cleared, I never seem to get rid of them. 

"I have to get the job anyhow," I said as I closed the faucet. I stood in front of the mirror. Little drops of water were dripping from my black hair covering my breasts. Looking at the mirror haunted me sometimes. The same black hair and the same amber eyes reminded me of her. My mother was beautiful with pale white skin but to live with her memories scattered in different places of my body, haunted me. 

Taking a deep breath, I shoved any more thoughts occurring in my head. I patted my hair dry and wrapped my lean body in a towel. I walked up to the balcony. The dark sky was lifting a little bit with its blue hue and the warm breeze brushed my skin.

It will be a new beginning tomorrow.

***

I tried to keep up the pace of the woman walking in front of me. The high heels would have made it a little difficult if I wasn't so used to it. My nude body con perfectly hugged my body, displaying how my hips swayed as I followed the chief executive. The wide and white corridors echoed our footsteps as we approached a door. There, the doors opened. The door to my fate. I couldn't even rationalize how long I'd been waiting to get a stable job.