Black Blood

Anna's POV
My hands twitch as lifeless as they seem. There's still life in me. But for how long?
The next step might be the end of me.
There's no more strength in me to write. I wanted to tell him. To apologize him, I needed to protect him. And yet I had failed at it. Black blood has made my body too weak to even express my thoughts. I wish I had done it earlier but today sitting at the table. The lamp and papers being the only witness of my existence. I admit my defeat. My dark bedroom, would soon be even darker.
"I'm sorry.
Anna"
I stare at the word sorry after ending the letter. The word seems hollow as well as deep, deeper than an ocean. The word reflects me, it shows how cowardly I am, how worthless I am feeling right now. The word seems to capture me. To capture me to my own stream of consciousness and in a split of a second. The letters overcome me. The letters, the words are all over the room. In dancing alphabets I see my life. A constant struggle for nothing.

Chapter 1 : Anna
Lewis's POV

It was a normal day at school. Arora and I had just skipped a lesson to spend some quality time together.

"So where were you for the last two days?"
I asked. We were both walking at the backyard of school that had become our little hiding spot.
"Don't even start. You know that skull-head..." Arora replies with utmost annoyance.
Skull head? Oh yeah her calculus teacher who loved to throw assignments at them whenever he wished. His head was small with dark brown sunken eyes. Where as his physique was similar to umm...Fat? No not fat but healthy may be a more fitting word. So according to Arora his first impression popped up the nick skull-head in her mind. Since then she has been calling him that.
"What did he do now?" With curious eyes I enquired.
"He gave three assignments in a row. He had to be on leave for the next whole weak so guess who gets the burden?" She responded rolling her crimson blue eyes.
"So that explains where you were."
I turned around to face her and notice a cell phone laying on the ground.
"I think you dropped your cell phone. Again. When will you start taking care of your things?" I told her. She instantly picked it up and replied. "Sorry. Thanks." After walking with her for a while I continued..
"You know I hate that skull-head. Always taking up our precious time."
I winked.
"Oh yes Infact I hate him too."
She winked back at me.
The russell of grass made us aware of the footsteps approaching us.
"That must be john. But you stay back let me confirm it first." I made a gesture for her to stay where she was.
From the black jacket and specially the white joggers I figured it was john.
John Ray my best friend and the only person who knew our secret place.
Approaching me he said, "I knew you'd be here. Did you hear the news?"
I really didn't know what news he was talking about as we had only skipped one lesson what possibly could happen in such a short time?
"News? What news?" I asked, my dark brown eyes filled with curiosity.
"Anna Micheal killed herself."
"Anna as in the one who had the syndrome???" Arora blurted out.
"Yes. The same. People are saying that she became so evil that she couldn't live with herself anymore."

Anna michael. The girl who was diagnosed with the Black blood syndrome recently. The black blood syndrome was a disease where negative thoughts started to aspire in a person's head. The patient could not overcome them in any way. Some serial killers had also been diagnosed with the same syndrome. It changed a persons personality, taking away the purity and turning it into evilness. Anna too was a very decent girl bearing a good character but then suddenly she started doing strange things. There were alot of rumors including Anna even killed her own cat. Anna had also somehow managed to cause five breakups of people in her circle. No one knew her where abouts. She never talked about who she was. And now she was dead.
"You mean she's dead??"
I glanced at john.
"As creepy as it sounds, she is. She hung herself in her room. Her parents are miserable. But then again that dreadful disease can do anything to you. It's better if you die before it gets you."
What did he mean by that? It's strange the way he said it. I mean was black blood that fatal? How would it feel to have something that could not be controlled. Suddenly, I wished I could have helped her. But what possibly could I have done? These thoughts always seemed to worry me. A disease so dangerous. Humanity, a major requirement of being a human being. How could someone live without it?
"I think we should get going."
"But I thought we were staying out for this lesson." Arora negotiated.
"Maybe later." I said and started to move towards the building where our class is located.
When I enter the building, it's filled with students moving here and there
The sound of their chatter while they opened and closed their lockers to put things in. I was relieved to see that there were still five minutes to reach my class. So I hurried towards my locker. Surprisingly I found Lara standing besides it, wearing a tea pink dress, her blonde hair backed up in a ponytail. A smile formed on her lips as she saw me.
"Hey there"
"Hey? How're you doing? And where's Sam? " Sam was her brother. They both were my good friends.
"He's just picking his things from the locker." She pointed at the locker in the next lane.
"Oh. Things going well between you two?"
"Yeah. Thanks to you. Otherwise who knows what those misunderstandings could have done? I mean no one struggles this much for someone else's relationship. You've been a really good friend to Sam."
To be honest, she was right no one did that much for someone. But seeing my friends in any problem. Made that my problem. I just couldn't see people deal with things alone. They both had been through alot. Their father died recently and there was this girl who was turning Sam against his family just because she was jealous of Lara. Lara was completely clueless. Sam was actually my junior and Lara was always troubled about his behavior at home. Their family was broken, Sam had himself all caught up in drugs. He needed a friend besides that girl. So that's where I came in. He found that friend in me and I being aware of the situation at his home. Made him into a responsible brother and son, rather than being a waste. I believed if one was capable enough to create a change he should do it right away. Because one positive thought could change a whole situation.
"Nah, it was nothing. Besides, what else are friends for?"
*********

The day went by with full of rumors of what happened to Anna. Who she was. The disease and everything.
But john's words were still stuck in my brain.
"It's better if you die before it gets you."
What if she died because it had got her already.
"Was there really no escape from the disease?" I thought to myself.

Knock knock.

"Lewis are you there?" From across the door Mother's worried words reached my ears.
I walked towards the door and opened it to find her standing with a tray filled with fruits and a knife in her hand. My eyes drifted to the knife. For a second I stared at it. Then I came back to reality.
"Yeah mom. I'm here."
"You didn't eat dinner today so I thought I would leave these in your room. In case you're hungry."
She said handing me the tray.
Mom always got worried if I skipped dinner. She was a sweet heart and a very caring mom.
"Thanks mom. Do you want some?"
I asked in case she's hungry too.
"Uh no dear I've had dinner."

******

After closing the door behind me I sat on my bed cutting the fruit . Which was completely normal. What was not normal was that my eyes could not stop staring at the knife and wondering how sharp it was.
"How would it feel to touch it? And run my fingers over it's sharp edge.
Ugh I wanted to try it so badly." Wait what was wrong with me?? What was I thinking. Was I going crazy.
But what if I.....
"Okay I've had it enough." I thought to myself and then I did a really strange thing without any speicifc reason.
I cut my wrist with it.
***********
So this was the first chapter of black blood. It's my very first novel.
And it might be a crappy one too but I hope you guys like it.
-Ramsha