Into the Night

Standing before running

Hijacking a school bus is surprisingly easy when there's a cop to commandeer it and an immortal to snap her fingers to make it roar to life. Thirty minutes later they had the bodies stacked and strapped in the back and were heading to their house for supplies and a short meeting to get all the details straight. Sella demanded the meeting, Ash seconded it, Lilian flipped them both off, but consented.

The female immortal sat behind the wheel with a trucker's hat turned backwards on her head, along with a short black bob wig underneath. No one knew where she got the wig or the hat from. Or when she put them on. At that point they didn't care anymore; they were exhausted and running on the fumes of heartbreak.

Sella, the survivor, sat adjacent from his aunt. One seat back and one to the right. He willed himself to be okay, not to empty his stomach in front of him, not to freak out. Among the body bags was a metal container that contained roughly ninety percent of his previous flame. He didn't know how to explain that to his sister, but the fact that there was hope to fix it all, gave him a great way to open the conversation.

Officer Greene drove in front of them trying to convince himself that this act would ease his consciousness, let him fall asleep without nightmares. He doubted it would, but he continued to escort them home with his unconscious lover in the back.

The bus rattled behind him, through the neighborhood, croaking loudly and hissing at every stop. In the distance a large white apple tree came in view, then the slivers of red, green, pink, magenta, and turquoise peeking through a Victorian's final layer of black.

"Why haven't I painted it white yet?" The owner pondered as the school bus parked.

Minus the hyenas gossiping, but plus the corpses, the bus ride was almost a bearable equation for the survivor. It didn't compare to the horrors he imagined. Nothing could.

And so, they got off the bus with the officer following close behind. They were prepared to get prepared, a step before taking the next step. Stepping up to the front door felt more monumental than it should have.

It twisted at Ash's instincts, knowing that they were going down a track without any return. Maybe Lily was right? Maybe he was headed for ruin and maybe he wanted his tower of lies to come tumbling around him, making a conveniently gaudy gravestone.

It gave Lily a familiar twinge, one that meant she was on the right path once again. That her heart fell in alignment with her convictions. It may to lead to blossoming bruises and shattered bones, but she refused to let anyone stop her. Those wounds faded with time. Her guilt proved itself incapable of blending into the background.

While those two mentally prepared themselves for the storm about to hit, Sella walked through the front door unaware that was the last time he would be entering that estate. That his past ran faster than he could forget it.

〰

Charlotte slept like a supermodel pretending to be asleep in an advertisement. Her color distressed hair fell in perfect curls on the mattress, fading from their multicolored dyes to blonde, back to its God-given red hue. It framed her angular features and perfect skin. All the while she radiated a natural superiority, an aura that all witches exude.

Her miniature sorcery teacher flipped the light switch on and off rapidly while stomping her feet against the hardwood floor. Given her small figure it didn't make as much noise as she planned.

"Get up hoe, we need to go!"

She didn't wake up because of course it wouldn't be that easy? Sella covered the light switch with his hand, sticking the switch into his palm. While him being brave enough to do that brought her joy, it still annoyed her given the fact she was doing it all for him. A little gratitude wouldn't hurt.