30 Day Writing Prompts

26

26. Character discovers a dead body or witnesses a death

Heat washed over his face, sweat dripping down his forehead. The room was too warm, the smell radiating from her body made him wretch. His shirt was soaked with a mixture of both sweat and blood, clinging onto his skin uncomfortably. The body lay limp on the floor in an odd, almost inhuman position. It was something a live human would be physically incapable of doing. He sat down beside his friend's body, using his fingers to close her eyes softly. His phone was clutched in his other hand tightly, waiting for him to make a call to the emergency services. He didn't though, not straight away. He was unable to keep his hands still, they shook dramatically and wouldn't stop. Every time he tried to dial the numbers he pressed the wrong ones, fear and grief washed over him like a wave. The wave tugged him under, blurring his vision with tears.

He called the police, the phone almost falling out of his hands. His whole body shook like he tremors of an earthquake. His voice wavered, uncertainty quite obvious. A young woman on the other end of the line listened, she stayed on the phone with him as he cried softly. Sirens rang out in the distance, wailing loudly. He took his friend's cold hand in his warm one, squeezing gently. The blood had stop running just below her ear, but the splatter spread almost all over the baby blue walls, forever staining them a bright crimson.

The gun was still clutched in her left hand. Despite being gone for a while, her grip was still iron on what took her life. He brushed her matted brown hair out of her face, the blood was slowly beginning to dry but still felt sticky and disgusting. She looked peaceful in death. The pain that usually created wrinkles and strains on her beautiful face had disappeared and was replaced with a sleeping expression.

Sirens approached, still wailing loudly for a few moments before stopping in dead silence. Then, footsteps entered the building. They were loud, moving closer and closer towards the room he was in.

Paramedics began to take away the body of his friend. She was placed into a body bag, as if she was garbage. He was escorted out of the room by policemen, grim looks on their faces. Did they understand what he witnessed? He would never be able to forget what he saw that day. Bounding up the stairs one by one and stopping at the door to her room in his tracks. She had a gun in her hand and it was pressed to her temple, her index finger on the trigger ready to pull it at any moment. A tiny smiled appeared on her face, and she mouthed 'goodbye' before pulling the trigger. A shot rang out in the room, deafening him for a while. The ringing didn't stop, even had he descended the stairs with a policeman in front of him and another behind him. The images didn't stop flashing through his head either. The picture of the blood splatter was etched in his brain now. Spray was almost tattooed to his face. The crimson colour would never fade, no matter how hard he scrubbed at it with soap and water.

Nothing would ever make him forget what happened that day. Nothing.