Bloody Pleasures 『Short Novel』

Sweet Dangeline

 How old was she?

Danger was seventeen years old but then she could still feel the same trauma ten years ago. The same horrifying, electrifying emotion deep within her, it came back to her sanity once again.

Something hit her mind and it wouldn’t let go.

Anxious for her stepmother and Arianne’s lives, she instantly stood up and walked towards the door.

Think..

She needed to think fast.

Where is my mother?

There, it hit her again. It was the same question that she had asked for herself before her own biological mother died.  Danger was there. Oh God…she was there too late.

If she couldn’t help her own mother, then Arianne would be killed too. The murderer, whoever that freak was, knew her too well.

The letter, the poetic wordings, the time, and the choices, were the exact things she had remembered from the last time. She wanted to scream as loud as she could but her tongue wasn’t helping her.

The game.

The damn bloody game she had played before.

She had recalled the letter that she was reading a while ago.

"Poison to poison" 

So her mother suffered like her sister. But how? If Arianne is to snakes, then what was for her mother?

Then again, she didn't know the exact location of Mrs. Anna Wright. What if the murderer was playing with her? What if her mother was not really in this house and she was really safe?

Which was true?

Her head ached. These were too much to bear for.

Why her past kept hunting her this time? What did the murderer want for her?

She had lost everything from those atrocious deaths and now, she had sensed complete danger all over the place.

She tried to recall her agonizing memories, those poignant past events that she had wish were just nightmares in a dream. Danger closed her eyes. She could still feel the coldness of her mother’s lifeless body, the blood all over the floor, the scent of her perfume on her dressing room, her wet hair covering her face, and a huge wound on her chest.

She cried so loud while kneeling on the floor. It made her go insane and those memories were coming back to life.

“Danger!” Someone was yelling her name but her eyes were so blurry that she couldn’t clearly see his face. “Danger!” He called again while she had felt a warm feeling. Someone was there for her, squeezing her hand while holding her close.

She cried instantly. If only there was someone who could help her before, her parents should have been alive and her life would not be as miserable as it was.

“What is going on Danger?”  She tried to keep her composure like old times but her hands were still quivering and her lips went dry all of a sudden. It was Eric’s innocent yet concern features plastered on his face. “Are you alright?” He began to wipe her tears using his own palm.

She couldn’t breathe as she remembered the letter in her secret closet. “Answer me Danger. What is that thing you’re holding?”

One moment she was delirious with everything and the next second, she was confounded by her strange actions. It was the letter. She remembered it a while ago.

"What are you doing? Give me that knife!”

Shocked, Danger didn’t know what to say anymore. Why was she holding a knife?

Eric’s face was still blank while staring at her. But his deep eyes were still locked, tilting his head down, finding some silent answers through her soul, wanting to ask something but he chose to remained silent.

“You haven’t answered me Danger. Where are you going? Your sister needs you and you run away from her. The key is not working. Someone broke the doorknob intentionally. And Arianne is still there with those poisonous snakes. So tell me, what are you doing here in the backyard?”

“I-I honestly don’t know.” Her voice deceived her.  She had sensed that this man was not satisfied with her words. But even she couldn’t react from her own questions in mind.

“We need to go back.”

Instead of following Eric’s footsteps, Danger was still standing like a statue in the middle on the ground. Aware of his words, she wanted to articulate something but she knew that Eric wouldn’t believe her.

Just like what they had done to her before…

“Danger! I said let’s go!” He gave her a harsh stare.

She took a deep breath to stave off the pain and followed him nonchalantly.

“Dangeline. Dangeline. My ever sweet Dangline. One moment you’re with them ,and now you’re all alone. Someday you’ll going to see them , but it will take for a while. Once my plan will be complete, then you are completely mine.”

Danger head ached too much. Those words…

Her thoughts drifted from the murderer’s last words before he disappeared.  She had thought it was over.

So over that she forgot what it felt like to be a victim of a tragedy.

She was Dangeline Reins who died a long time ago. She died by forgetting her life. She forgot who she was and what she was.

But did she really disregard everything?

Or was she only pretending not to remember anything from the past?

Her heart clenched as she remembered herself as a naive little girl. If she was not stupid enough, everything would be back to normal. If she was brave enough, she could have save her own parents. If she was intelligent enough, she might have killed the murderer.

Or even knowing its identity…

But she failed…

Shaking her head, she tried to dispel her bittersweet memories and the grief they caused.

She had stopped, aware from the danger, she took a slight glance on Eric's broad shoulders and deliberately turned around.

Danger ran as fast as she could.

Think.

"Poison to poison... her mother... the snakes...."

If she could find her on time, then she might save Arianne as well. This was not her nightmare. Her mother had the antidote for her sister. And she was the key to find her.

She knew. The murderer was starting the game.  Those words kept repeating on her mind.

Ran...

"Let's play again, my ever sweet Dangeline."