Rose Of Many Thornes

A Beautiful Night

The carnival boomed with excitement and light. Men, women, and children of all ages gathered for the yearly festivities. Playful music danced through the air, giving off a sense of whimsy and fun. The smell of fresh cotton candy and elephant ears wafted through the air greeting each person as they walked past.

"One wristband, please." A young women asked as she stood by the ticket booth. Her dirty blonde locks blowing in the cool October breeze. The vendor smiled up at the girl, exchanging a bright pink wrist band for an old tattered twenty dollar bill.

 Sam turned towards the carnival and looked up in awe at the colorful lights displayed before her, a small smile tugging on her lips. She lifted her camera from her neck to her eye and snapped a few quick shots of the delightful layout before her. She took one more loving glance at the sight before making her way into the masquerade of the congregation.

Sam was stopped by a small hand snaking around her arm, a small young women smiling up at her "Sam! Oh my goodness! How are you, doll? It's great to see you out in the real world instead of cooped up in that old apartment of yours with that pothead hunting for proje-" The brunette cut herself off as she saw the camera hanging loosely from the taller teen's neck.

"Really Sam." She said plainly, a single manicured hand pulling away from her bicep and motioning towards the device that had consumed her friends social life. Instead of automatically going to defend herself, Sam simply shrugged her friend off.

"This place looks beautiful." Was her simple excuse, earning an overly exaggerated eye roll from her friend. "Come on, Emily. You can't possibly tell me Professor Sheu wouldn't give me mad points for a handful of decent shots of this " She said, waving her arms towards the colorful affair around them. Her friend unaffectedly glared and popped her gum.

"What ever Sammy. You wanna live through screen shots? Be my guest. I'm getting myself a corn dog." She stated plainly and turned with a sway in her hips.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Sam turned her attention back to the task at hand. She wasn't going to let her friends negative attitude ruin her night. She picked up her camera once more and began to fill her film.

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Gentle clicks could be heard as Sam took quick snaps of the roller coaster as it sped past, joyful screams coming from the passengers. She turned to head to the next attraction when the street posts began shutting down. One after another the lights that once made a clear path were now replaced by the dimmed colored lights of the rides, just barely illuminating the area. A twinge of fear ran through Sam as she tried to shake off her budding anxiety.

Something wasn't right

Complaints were murmured at the change in atmosphere but Sam didn't the motive was ambiance. In an instant Sam's foreboding came to fruition, a powerful boom radiated from the food stand . Flames consumed the area as people fell to the ground scorched.

Her heart dropped as fear coursed through her. Crowds of people took off towards the exit looking like a stampede of wild boar, each fighting harder than the last to get out. Then everything went red. The joyous music was quickly replaced with horror filled screams as another, more powerful explosion was triggered. Charred appendages flew through the field, the exit no longer populated by families but rather deformed, blistered limbs. The gruesome sight pulled Sam from her frozen yet curious state to that of pure nausea.

"Oh Christ" Sam said in a hushed tone as she threw a hand over her mouth, a small gagging sound escaping her throat. A series of minor explosions ran through the area at random, shaking the ground with the rage of an angered God.

 Sam felt like a damn caged animal, trapped yet furious. Despite her over whelming anxiety Sam wasn't going to just roll over and die. No, she was booking it double quick and getting the fuck out of here.

Sam quickly yanked her phone from her back pocket to call the cops when there was another blast beside her. Must've been about twenty feet away but still strong enough to push the slender girl to the hard ground, knocking the wind from her lungs. Her ears rang and vision blurred. Her phone was lost some where she would probably never find it.

 Slowly she lifted her head and blinked rapidly in an attempt to clear her vision. She looked around with a sense of desperation, scanning for any recognizable survivors. Her efforts were for not, as she soon came to realize most everyone had been caught up in the blast. Any living citizens clung to deceased loved ones while the others simply broke down, fearing what may happen if they were to approach the exit. 

The carnival had been completely obliterated. The decoratively designed rides crackled in glowing embers, the large gaudy games prizes had been reduced to smoldering ash, all colorful bulbs had popped and gone completely dark. Sam, now relying on the light of the boisterous moon and the roaring flames, strained to look past the chaos.

In the dark she saw a phantom of a figure skating amongst the dead. Sam would've mistaken the person for death herself if it wasn't for the gargantuan weapon clutched in their hand. Realization hit like a ton of bricks as she recognized what exactly this person was up to, eyes widening as she watched the black clad villain violently implant their hunting knife into a twitching body until it grew still only to repeat the process on the next victim. There was a pause in their fluent movement, a momentary still, then it slowly lifted it's head in Sam's direction. 

Sam stared at them from a great distance, trying to look past the goggles they hid behind to see the person beneath. As the slick knife slid out of the chosen corpse Sam jumped into action, picking herself up in haste. Sam threw her injured arm to her chest and made a break for the woods. Her heart thumped in her ears as she ran as fast as her broken body would carry her. She strained and ached in pain until she took a  sudden blow to the spine, forcing her back to the ground. She hissed in pain as she heard a quiet pop come from her ribs. 

Sam forced herself onto her back and met the eye of the monster before her with malicious intent. She threw a powerful kick towards her attackers shin, hoping to get them down or at least cause some pain. Sam's foot connected with a shin guard and she relished the crack that sounded through the area. A muffled groan was heard from above before a heavy boot landed on her chest, not enough to completely crush her but enough to show that fighting is futile. Despite the clear warning Sam continued to struggle against the increasing pressure.

"You're the last one," an accented voice mused through a half mask "the police should be here shortly" Sam scrunched up her face, rage bubbling inside her chest.

"You bastard! These were innocent people! What could you possibly look to gain" Sam screamed in disgust. 

"No need to mourn the loss of crass, dull, cattle. There may be no gain from where you lie but up here I see no loss. " They said with pride and a tilt their head. "Don't worry my dear, you'll soon come to understand." 

Sam didn't have time to process before a heavy boot came crashing down, knocking her unconscious.

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A\N
Hey, that's the first chapter! Hope you liked it. Not sure about an update schedule or anything because I don't even have an audience yet but I'm thinking about a chapter a week or a chapter every five reads, thanks again

~ Sam

*edited*