Give 'em Hell; short stories

Red Rain

Title: Red Rain
Purpose: College Scholarship portfolio submission
End: Received 1k dollars towards student tuition

Genre: Thriller
Warnings: Gore, depiction of depression, mild body horror

Description: Azon Conners finds himself dead and resurrected by seemingly supernatural means, only to find that he has a new body that is unlike anything he has ever seen.

Note: This is not a full circle mini story with a conclusion but rather the preempt to something bigger under the workshop titles, "Black X" or "Dr. Crane's Walking Mansion." It is more of an origin story, if anything. Please enjoy Red Rain, or skip it if it does not appeal to you.

Azon Conners discovered his hatred for dogs the day the rain turned red.

Rain; cold and unforgiving on the chilly nights in which he would wander. Like droplets of icy daggers the rain would pierce through the air and gently kiss his neck, whistling wind humming sweet tunes in his ears on these stormy nights. The howl of wind would sing to him under the highway, laughing and cooing to him in a tune of distraught sorrows. This is the night in which a silent voice would cry and Azon would be welcomed into what he would learn to call Hell.

Azon was now eighteen. His last year of highschool finally came to a close. Unfortunately, on the night of his graduation, a horrible storm would rip through the little town of Ennis, Montana. The forest was a short way across the highway, as Ennis was in the middle of nowhere, plunked into the mountain plains cupped into a bowl of trees and loping hills which were to grow into the Rocky Mountains. But even still, Azon could hear the cries of wolves all night. Something was wrong, but he foolishly paid no attention to it.
Azon received his diploma, shook his principal's hand, and left. He didn't believe he ever spoke to the principal in all his life, despite having known her since he first learned how to walk. That's what it's like in a small town. Everyone knows everyone, and there are no secrets to be kept. Azon spoke to no one. Never to his teachers, never to his peers, and never to anyone in Ennis. Apparently, it was due to his disorder. Not that he was nonverbal or didn't know how to speak, but rather, the discomfort he felt when talking bothered him enough to push himself not to do it. It's easy when you have no one you'd like to talk to. There's no one he'd ever grown attached to, hardly even his own family.

Azon had no idea why people were attached to him, though. He didn't realize just how many people liked him at all until he stood with his fellow eight classmates after graduation for the after ceremony. He was flooded with people who wanted to hug him and bid him good luck in his future. He was given so many gifts and swarmed by them all so much that he became overwhelmed, lacking any ability to tell them to go away. Azon hated people, but he didn't think about that all too much.

The second he had the opportunity, he ran. He left his gifts with his mother who sat in the bleachers of the gymnasium, and gave her no explanation for his need to leave. It was too cramped and crowded–he needed out. He didn't know it would soon be the decision that would change his life forever.

He went to the highway, which was junketed to the mainstreet and ran through town. It was cold and storming, and his graduation gown was, of course, not meant to stand such bad weather. The road was wet and slippery, and only God knows why he went as far as he did. Azon was stupid. He was always stupid. He hid under the highway in a ditch's irrigation pipe. It was dry under there with, of course, the exception of its bottom which was already beginning to pool with water from the rain. But he was secure there, and the world didn't seem so confining anymore. Finally, Azon was able to breathe.

After a short while, the rain lapsed, shrinking away into a light sprinkle. He figured that it was the best time to return to the after-graduation-ceremony. He was an absolute mess, but this was definitely not the first time he'd run off and disappeared for a short while. People would understand it, right?