The Grave Dancer's Song (First Book)

The First Sign

She danced in a motion of bliss.  Her hips swayed from side to side, as her hands pulled her hair up from her neck and into a messy bun.  Keeping perfect rhythm with the music, she dropped her hair from her hand, and stepped away from the all to handsome boy, and headed towards the women's restroom.

I quickly stepped directly behind her, and beginning following her steps.  She gets pulled into arms of several different men.  Each trying to hold her next to them a second longer, as she smiles and pushes off of them.  She passes the small bar, and waves at the bartender. I almost reveal myself here, I trip on my laugh quickly and turn into the closest male and begin to dance.  I watch as she turns around to look behind her.   She does not noticed me larking in her shadows.

As she shrugs and turns to continue her distant to the girl's restroom, I step directly behind her and begin to follow her once again.  I watch as she sways her hips from side to side, as she has done for years.  She swings her head and flips her hair over to one shoulder.  With one last swing of her hips, she bumps the bathroom door and walks inside.  I am quick to follow, only seconds behind.  But she does not see me, as I rush into the closest stall, and shut it. 

Slightly, peeking out, I see her staring at herself.  She leans in closer and a look of disgust crosses her face, but almost a second later it gone and she continues as if she truly is pleased.  Quickly she runs a finger over her now running eye linear. This tells a tale of sorrow in that one quick motion. Then she runs the same finger over her lips, and pulls them all too sexily to the side.  Another girl enters the bathroom.  The lady in the mirror stops, turns and smiles at the girl, before returning to herself.  Next, she runs her hands over her mile long blonde hair.  And pushes it up like its the 1980's.  She trys but fails to pull the skin tight top below her mid section.  And then yanks up the mini skirt to just below her bosom area.  Seeming satisfied she begins to head out. 

My mind drifts back to that day.  The bridge, the thought, the bet.  For second I almost back down.  She makes it to the door, as my thoughts drift to us and then.  The weight of the gun in my purse ways heavy on my shoulder.  With out a second thought, I stick my hand on the gun.  Placed in a perfect position to pull the trigger, I emerge from the stall.  The girl stops, her mouth opens.  She knows, she remembers.  I pull the gun out and back her against the wall.  She is too stunned to move.

I hear the other girl scream, but it is just a whisper compared to the sound of the voice.  "I will never forget you, like you forgot me.  This is my revenge, my chance to take out all you took out on me."  I whisper as I lean in closer.  I press the gun against her chest.  I feel the kick back, and hear the sound as I slowly pull the trigger.  I step back; the gun falls from my hand.  I listen, one, two, three seconds.  Nothing, the last sound of the girl's screaming stopped and gurgling of the dying victim is done.  I breath out.  I begin to walk away when the sirens hit.  I try to run but they are everywhere.

They have me before I can blink.  As they try to carry me out of the now bloody bathroom, I latch on to her hair.  "I only did to you what you have done to me."  I feel hands shaking me hard as I try to fight the daze.  She will not be the reason I awake. 

"Jade!"  Jade rushes up from under her covers, and latches onto her brother.  He quickly wraps his arm around her.  "It's okay."  He crawls up onto the bed and pulls his sister onto his lap.  "Calm down."  He brushes his hand over her long red hair.  "It's just a nightmare."  Jade pushes herself back from Bryan's chest.

"The same one."  Jade clenched her teeth together, and closed her eyes.  It's always the same one. For months, the same nightmare."  Jade stood up off of her bed, and walked into her adjoining bathroom.  Her hand felt too heavy as she reached to open the medicine cabinet.  She pulled out her little blue pills, and dumped four into her hand.  She then tipped her head back and dropped them down her throat. 

"Jade, only two a day."  Bryan said.  He and his family knew Jade was too lost to be okay, and her new escape was those little blue pills.  Jade turned and looked Byran dead in the eyes.  Bryan shuddered at her gaze.

"Two pills a day, tell me when you're in pain do only take two pills a day?"  Jade slammed the bathroom door in his face, and slid down the door.  "Leave me alone!"  Jade shouted through the door.  "I just want to be alone!" 

"Jade, being alone is not the answer."  Bryan tried but failed to say everyday.  Something killed her long ago.  Jade Anya Marshall was not here, she was replaced with a cold dead girl.  Everyday she slumped around and cried.  And those awful nightmares.  She was once the most outgoing, playful girl in town.  That was until last summer, when the suicide occurred.  Bryan sighed as he heard Jade pucking.  "You don't need to do that, I'll just tell mom your not ready."  He longed to see her smile.  Of course, sometimes a smile would escape her lips, but only when they were outside of this house.

"Don't bother I'll do it myself."  It was hard to remember the old Jade.  It was hard to remember the old days.  There was a part of him missing, his head became heavy as he imagined losing her.  Jade swung the door open just as Bryan swore.

"I already have."  Jade just stared at him.  Bryan did not say anything else just walked out of her room.  "She's still not ready!"  Jade listened as Bryan yelled at their mom and for his light footsteps as he walked down the stairs.  She knew the pain he must feel, but something made her not care.

She slumped back to her bed, and bent over sitting on the edge.  She held her head as if it might float away.  Her eyes, that's all she could remember.  The revenged filled eyes, the way they followed the girl across the room.  The mind they looked through.  She always wondered what that face looked like.  Was it innocent, or was it just as evil and ugly as it's eyes?  Jade lay back on her bed, she smiled as her back cracked.  Somehow that made her relax.   It was almost comforting to hear the sound of the gas rushing between her bones.

She stared up at her ceiling.  Her eyes became heavy, but she fought them.  She tried to envision her body, her face, and her mind behind those eyes.  Is it possible she was burning for revenge?

Bryan Slumped the rest of the way down stairs.  He ran his fingers through his messy brown hair.  Walking into the kitchen, Bryan sat in the closest dining chair and leaned his head back.  His mother, Meredith slowly walked over to him.  She bent down to her knees, and pulled Bryan's head so it was now facing her.  Meredith whipped away the two tears, that had begun their journey down Bryan's tan face.

Meredith smiled, and stood up.  She slowly walked around to the next closest chair, and sat.  With her outstretched hand, she grabbed a hold of Bryan's hand.  They sat in complete silence for what felt like forever.  "I need to go to school."  Bryan said.  He smoothly pulled his hand out from under his all too skinny mother's hand.  He instantly missed the comforting feeling he had felt while he was touching her.  "I'll see you later."  Bryan bent down and placed a small kiss on top of Meredith's head.  Meredith lightly touched Bryan's shoulder.  Bryan smiled, and walked away from her.

As he made his way to his car, he took a quick glance back up at Jade's window.  He saw a small shadow moving around in there.  He chalked it up to being Jade.  He tried to turn his head, but something made it linger just a second longer.

When he finally turned away, he saw Janie standing by his car.  "I thought you were never going to look away."  She said, her normally high pitched, cheery voice, was dull and tried.  Bryan was quick to look over his girlfriend of eight months.  She, as usual, had high heeled boot, and skinny jeans.  A nice solid colored shirt, and a jacket to match.  Her necklace was small gold triangles, and it hung just inches above her chest.  "Do you approve?"  Janie sarcastically asked, she swayed her hips.

"Yea."  Bryan did not mean for it to come out so depressed, but it did, and he was.  Janie sulked over to him, and wrapped her arms around his neck.  It was not the same comfort had it had been with his mom, but still it was some form of comfort.  I felt tears sting his eyes; for a second he hated that he was crying in front of Janie.  Then he remembered, she had always let him show emotions, since they were kids.

Janie pulled back, and placed a gentle kiss on Bryan's lips.  "I'm sorry."  Janie then simply walked away, and slid into the passenger seat of Bryan's Audi.  Bryan took on last glance up at Jade's room.  This time Jade stood there, curtains drawn-ed and a cold, dead look on her face.  Bryan knew that face would haunt his dream.