The Bringers of Chaos

Prolouge

She looked at herself in the mirror of her bathroom. Blood stained her teeth, dripping down her chin and into the sink. Her nose was coated a painful blue, her hands painted a rancid red. She felt sick and dizzy and broken. She held onto the sink for dear life and turned it on.

She washed her face slowly, careful not to hurt herself even more. She winced as she washed the blood out of her nose. It was the dead of night, the sky a deep inky purple. She had to get out of here if she wanted to live. She had to escape.

The bruises that coated her body pulsed and ached. Her knees were starting to give out. She grabbed her stomach as it turned and churned, gently pushing herself away from the sink and reluctantly entering her bedroom.

It was a horrible mess: clothes littered and coated the floor, blood staining the carpet, wind gushing in from the open window. A set of drums lay discarded in a corner, her bed shoved into another. Posters and records decorated the rotting walls, fake grape vines hung from the ceiling along with ancient LED lights.

She shuffled to her bed, holding her uncontrollably dizzy head. A tiny bit of vomit seeped into her mouth as she quietly sat down. She held her broken arm, resisting the urge to let out a guttural scream. The pain was blinding, breaking her focus. Every movement was excruciatingly painful.

Every atom in her body screamed at her to stay seated but she ignored them, instead making her way to her closet and finding things she could take with her. Clothes was the first and most obvious choice, along with a bit of food, cash and first aid supplies. She found an old flashlight and shoved it in her bag. She found a pocket knife and shoved it into her bag. She found a pack of god knows how old gummy bears and shoved them in her bag, along with her drumsticks, a few jackets, shoes, her wallet and phone. She slowly took of the pendant that wrapped around her neck and shoved it into her pocket. It held a photo of her and her best friend, Mariam.

Mariam, she thought. Oh god, Mariam.

How could she explain to her what she was doing? How could she just abandon her while she sat in their hotel room, pondering her return? How could she-?

She told her mind to shut up. That was a problem she was going to deal with later. Now, she just needed to leave. She grabbed her denim jacket and wrapped it around her body, slipping on shoes as well.

Taking a deep breath, she opened her window fully and walked out onto the roof, sliding down and jumping until her feet hit the solid pavement.

She looked back at what she once called home. Not anymore, she thought.

She turned and started to walk, tearing stinging her eyes as she held her mutilated arm. She took in a shaky breath and fished in her pocket for her phone.

With one hand, she went into the phone app and pressed the name 'Mariam.'

Beep. Beep. Beep.

It went to voicemail. "Hi, it's me Mariam. I'm busy right now, or just not in the mood. Leave a message after the-" Frustrated, she hung up and cursed under her breath. She had made it to the bus stop, sitting down and waiting, texting Mariam frantically with one hand.

She kept deleting the texts she had written, not able to find the right words to explain her predicament. She slapped the phone to her head in frustration and shouldered her bag yet again as the roar of an engine exploded through the night.

A large bus pulled to a stop in front of her, its doors opening as people poured out. After the crowd had dissipated, she went up the small steps and ventured into the depths of the bus, trying to find a suitable place to sit. People gave her odd looks; some of disgust, some of sympathy, most of irritation.

Finally, she found a seat and sat down. A millisecond later, the bus started and once again roared down the street. She looked out the window to see her house, a large beige mansion that was like a wound in the night sky. She quickly looked away, not wanting to be reminded of why she was leaving.

And just like that, Samantha Lucas managed to escape her home one last time, vowing to never come back no matter the circumstances... at least she thought.