Painting the Roses Black

Helena painted black around her eyes with eyeliner. She brushed out her long dirty-blonde hair then looked at herself in the mirror. She shrugged and stood up. Her black skinny jeans and her baggy navy blue hoody looked clean. She grabbed her ipod and threw it in her bag. She made sure she had all of her books for school. She slung her trusty black backpack over one shoulder and Walked downstairs to the kitchen.

"Ello Helena," An older woman called from the kitchen. She poured Helena a cup of coffee.

"Good morning, Marion. I trust you slept well?" She said, taking the coffee.

"Yes quite, thank you dear," Marion went back to hanging around the kitchen. Marion was Helena's adopted mother. Helena's mother had died when she was a baby, and her father when she was three. Her grandparents had taken her six year old brother, Josh, but didn't want Helena, so Marion adopted her. Marion was in her mid fifties. She had smile lines on her worn face and wore her hair in a pretty white bun. She had been widowed ten years. Helena could only remember a fuzzy warm feeling of Tom before he passed away with cancer. Marion and Helena got along very well and never argued, even though Helena was almost sixteen.

Helena got a peach out of the fridge and sunk her teeth into the juicy, sweet fruit. She smiled. She loved peaches. She sat on at the bar and listened to Marion talk about a book she'd just finished reading. Helena finished her peach and put the pit in the bowl Marion kept out for peach pits. She washed the sticky juice off her face and hands and drank her coffee. She glanced at the clock and put her empty cup in the sink.

"Bye Marion!" She called walking towards the door.

"Bye! Have a nice day honey!" Marion said waving.

"You too!" She called, shutting the door behind her. She walked down the pavement and breathed in the crisp morning air. She ran her fingers over the rough bark of the many trees on her way to her bus stop. She loved mornings.

By the time she arrived at her bus stop, the fingertips on her right hand were completely numb. She was very calm when she finished the long walk from her home to the bus stop. She always came early so she could savor the peaceful morning without distractions or bullies. She leaned against the majestic cedar that guarded her stop. She felt the hard wood digging into her back. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back, listening to the wind and the birds in the branches of the tree. She loved nature. She wasn't a hippie or anything, but she felt at home under a tree with her eyes shut.

She heard footsteps approaching. They were light, and careful. She smiled.

"Good morning, James," She said without opening her eyes.

"How do you do that!??! I was being quiet!" Her best friend in the whole world wailed. She opened her eyes and hugged him.

"you have distinct footsteps. They're careful and light, like a scared kitten," She giggled. James and Marion were her only friends. Other kids hated and tormented her. They stood under the tree in a serene silence. They saw a black pickup truck drive up. The driver was either horrible at driving or drunk. James could drive better than that, and tat was saying a lot. A man in a mask with a wooden baseball bat climbed out of the cab and ran toward James and Helena.

"Run!" James cried. They ran to the woods across the street. They dashed around trees and under low branches. They heard the masked man crashing behind them.

Helena's lungs burned and her legs ached. Her face was hot and sticky. She was running out of steam. She had no clue where they were. James was beside her a bit better off. She saw a hole ahead of her and jumped over it. Her foot landed on the edge and the dirt crumbled beneath her, sending her flailing into the hole.

"James!" She screamed as she fell.

This is a really deep hole...she thought. She saw James peering over the edge at her. He was about to jump after her when a baseball bat cracked over his skull, pushing him in and sending him tumbling after her. Her head smacked a hard wooden root sticking from the side of the tunnel, and everything went black. She dreamt of white rabbits feeding her cake, and everything getting small...