Plastic Roses

Chapter One - Ashley

Tears dripped down the female's face. Her golden, honey-colored hair, knotted and tangled, is glued to her face with blood and sweat. She could hear the heavy footsteps grow louder as she tugged at the chains that held her to the wall. The young female began to scream, as loud as she could, only for it to be muffled by the thick cloth that covered her mouth.

A sweet chuckle echoed through the cold, dark room, and a shadow loomed over her. The woman looked up, silently pleading with her kidnapper as a knife was brought to her throat. If it weren't for the cloth one would be able to hear her blood-curdling screams down the street. Silence. A rose fell to the ground, into a puddle of the girl's blood.

*****

Ashley flopped down on her old couch, an annoying squeak of rusted springs emerged from the sofa. She wore some old stained sweatpants and a random t-shirt that she found at the bottom of her closet. Throwing up her legs, Ashley grabbed the remote and flipped on the television, it immediately going to the news. It was strange, however, for the news never played in the afternoon. But she continued to listen, curious as to why exactly the news had interrupted her shows.

The news lady sat down hurriedly and brushed her out of her face then quickly adjust her notes. "The notorious killer known only as 'Rose' has struck again. The body of Missy Louis was just found in an abandoned warehouse." A photo of the woman appeared on the screen. Ashley could easily recognize the girl. One of the most beautiful girls in town, with long honey-colored waves, flawless tan skin, and icy blue eyes. So yeah, there is no doubt that the girl was beautiful, unlike Ashley. Her hair is a pale yellow that rolls down her back in a waterfall of knots and curls. Her skin, a light tan. And then there are her eyes, each a different color; her left eye plain brown, and her right a bright silver, like the reflection of the moon across calm ocean waters.

"As usual a rose was sitting in a puddle of her blood. Lock your doors and your windows, do anything you can to stay safe. You don't know who 'Rose' will go after ne..."

The screen froze and began to glitch and sputter. An image of a rose appeared on the screen and Ashley nearly choked on air, the voice was deep and demonic, a voice that could haunt your nightmares for the rest of your life.

"There is no escape... Stop trying now, you can never catch me. You will never find me, and I will NEVER stop. Locked doors and windows won't keep me away. I will find a way, I always find a way. You don't know it but you are already dead, I'm just finishing the job." There was a pause, "This isn't like the other stories, this is my story, and in my stories, the bad guy always wins. No one will escape..." In a blink, the image was gone.

Ashley watched silently as the news reporters freaked, having forgotten to turn off the camera "Call the police now!"

People were yelling, running everywhere, frantically trying to find out how in the world this killer was able to hack their system. But then came a pause, followed by screams. A figure was thrown at the camera and then the screen once again went blank. Ashley just stared in shocked awe at the dark screen before slowly raising the remote and switching it off.

Her eyes were wide, "what just happened" she asked herself, surprised by the news report. Ashley shook her head and stood "it was a fake" she announced loudly, but her face was filled with fear.

A loud ding exploded through the house making her jump at the sudden noise. Realizing it was only her doorbell, she trudged off towards the door, peeking out slightly. A man stood at her door, running a hand through his dark shaggy hair. He had dark green eyes that looked as if they were clouded with thick spider webs.

The man that stood there, Ethan, came over often, usually to mess with Ashley about her Agoraphobia, or to deliver her groceries. After her mother was shot and killed on the doorstep of their house, Ashley refused to take a step outside the comfort of her home and into the terrifying outside.

Ethan shoved open the door, tossing Ashley onto the ground. He raised an eyebrow at his girlfriend and chuckled lightly, She had never really been the strongest person and was easily knocked over by the slightest touch. Ashley scrambled to her feet and gave Ethan a playful glare before tearing one of the grocery bags out of his hand.

"Jerk" she muttered quietly as she trudged off the kitchen, her boyfriend following close behind her.

Ethan rolled his eyes at the comment and chuckled lightly. He smiled at the woman before him and hugged her from behind. Ashley froze as she felt his arms snake around her waist and his chin which rested on her shoulder. Her face began to heat up, slightly embarrassed by her boyfriend's actions.

Soon she came to her senses and shoved Ethan off her with a playful giggle. "Stop it" she laughed and slapped his arm. He smirked, shaking his head as he pushed past her. Pulling open the kitchen cabinets he slowly began to pile everything into them.

Ashley stood behind him, watching silently as he shoved her groceries into random cabinets. She let out an annoyed sigh "that is not where those go" she growled playfully.

He turned back and smiled "I know," he said, before turning back to shoving bags on random shelves.

Shaking her head, Ashley slowly began to pull things from the cabinets, turning away to place them in their correct place.

***992 Words***