Faded

Chapter 11

“Who are you?” I queried as she smirked.

“Who I am doesn’t matter but you should be wary of who you can trust Scarlet.”

“What makes you so certain that I can’t trust the people I know.”

“Everyone has untold secrets that we don’t want to share. If you want to know the truth then seek out the person who is the most responsible.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Do you really think that all that’s happened to you is sheer coincidence?”

I let what the woman said sink in as she continued to speak and as she did so I grew more and more puzzled and confused. A part of me didn’t believe her but the part of me wanted there to be a valid explanation for Isabel’s actions, Laurel’s disappearance and all the other misfortunes that I had faced.

“Here, take this. If you are ever in need of my help are wish to contact me, then you can do so using this device. Only you can open this, no one else can.”
She placed a black metallic cube on my hand that was surprisingly weightless and closed my fingers over it. I continued to question her as the bus entered the tunnel and then we were both engrossed in pitch black darkness.

“What happened to Laurel?” I inquired.

As soon as the bus was out of the tunnel she was gone. It was as if she wasn’t even there but the cube on my hand proved otherwise.

“Are you okay back there?” asked the driver as he stared at me through his rear view mirror. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Yeah, I’m-I’m fine. There was a woman here she-”

“There isn’t anyone else on the bus besides you.”

I knew I saw the woman sitting just across from me, I was sure of it. But at that point in time what I needed the most was clarity but as the day moved on I was left with more questions than answers. I never took my eyes off the empty seat across from me for the remainder of the ride back to the city unsure of what I had just witnessed.

*****

I got out of the cab after paying the driver and made my way down my neighborhood after taking a right past the Fong family residence I made my way to the grand black gates.

I should find Preston maybe he could give me a ride to the hospital to get my leg...it’s open?

The gates were wide open and there were no guards out by the gates like there usually was and just like before my heart started pounding rapidly.

There’s always a logical explanation for everything. You just need to remain calm.

The front door, just like the gates were wide open. I cautiously made my way in and the dead silence continued, triggering my anxiety and to make matters worse the sound of shattering glass and screaming resonated through the entire house. I made my way up the stairs as my heart hammered through my chest and my shaky hands struggled to hold onto my crutches.

“Mom. Is that you? Are... are you okay?" I croak out.

There was no response; silence was suffocating. I then overhear my mother converse with an unknown person and even though I stop to listen to their conversation, the voice was still unidentifiable. I reached for the door handle and I momentarily lose my grip after hearing what I presumed to be gunshots from beyond the door. The door provided a veil of protection behind the horrors and tragedy that I was going to witness. Yet, sadly grief and tragedy, like a hurricane or an intoxicating disease could attack us at any moment.

My heart was beating so fast I was sure I would pass out. There was a loud thud and the surrounding air grew tense. I felt a wet and sticky substance make its way underneath my wobbly feet, as my lips quivered, I looked down and sure enough, a pool of blood escaped from the room before me.

My stomach turned and my breathing becomes more ragged as I open the door. My father, dressed in his gray suit and blue tie laid by the door with a hole in the side of his head; from the looks of it, he wasn't going to come back. I looked up to meet my mother's eyes as she sobbed. My mother dressed in a pink silk nightgown stared at my father's dead body with fresh tears streaming from her pale face. She locked eyes with me and not only did I see grief in her eyes but fear and sadness.

As she locked eyes with me for the very last time, her gown becomes drenched in blood by two gunshots firing from behind her, she too slumped to the floor. My mother's fall revealed a black masked figure in black who stood only a few feet away from me. I let go of the crutches and scrambled toward my mother’s body sobbing as I grabbed a hold of her.

“You- you need to go Scarlet. You need to get-get out of her.” she struggled to muster.

“I can’t just leave you. I’ll call the ambulance they-they’ll be here in no time.” I sobbed. As soon as the words left my lips she seemed to turn into stone, her green eyes grew lifeless and I knew that I had lost her.

I launched myself at the masked figure as they began to walk away grabbing a hold of their leg.

“What makes you think you can get away with this!?” I scream as the masked figure looked back at me.

The masked figure kicked me aside but I was able to grab hold of their sleeve. The sleeve tore off revealing the killer's sage tattoo and fair skin. The killer reloaded their gun which appeared to be some sort of pistol that I had never seen before. The masked figure then fired a bullet at me that missed me by near centimeters. The sound of the bullet and the ringing in my left ear manifested the anger I had into fear and I began limping down the hall with footsteps following after me. I tripped over a crease over the carpet and tumbled down the stairs into darkness.

A/N: I know I skipped a week of updating. I'm sorry 🙇‍♀️. I'll try to create a update schedule that works around my hectic schedule. Tell me what you think and please vote and comment!