Karst

Chapter Six: Tick-Tock

Edith drew the blinds slowly, the sunlight shining onto the dusty countertop of the bedside table, revealing the notes that were written in black ink on the white walls and the floor, the body lying lifeless on the bed, unmoving and its steady heartbeat diminished, like a candle that had been blown out. The still figure's eyelids fluttered for a moment, then opened in alarm as he saw the sinister stranger standing at the foot of his bed. He screamed in horror when he saw her face.

She had short, jet black hair that was cut in a bob, with a flat, straight fringe. She wore a black shiny dress with long, knee high coal coloured boots, that were laced intricately. Her eyes were a bright green, and appeared to stare into his soul, but that was not the thing that disturbed him. Her face was horrifically scarred, stitches along the sides of her torn mouth, identical on either side. Her face was as pale and empty as death. She had a red cross on the front of her dress. "You can't change your fate, Hayden," she said in a low whisper with a smile playing across her lips, "Neither can you accept it." She paused. "Because it will in the end, come and get you, and as sure as how there is no hope for any of you pathetic humans, I will be waiting for you when you meet that destiny." "By the way your house is a mess. And also you should really consider locking your door." Hayden was trembling, his hands shaking as he reached for a glass of water. He dropped it and it smashed into a million shards of crystal blue glass that glinted in the light of the sun. The room was mostly bare, with little furnishings except for the bed and the bed side table. There was a painting on the wall of a walled garden with tangled flowers, however that was the only source of colour throughout the room. Hayden liked to keep things plain. He never liked to draw attention to things unnecessarily and besides, no one ever visited him anyway. He was alone, most of the time. "Your house is so depressing. Ever since your mother died i think you lost something too. Not just your heart, Hayden." Hayden was surprised at the sudden bitterness in her tone. A second ago she seemed as carefree and bubbly as a mountain spring. "How do you know my name and where I live?" He asked, finally working up enough courage to even look at her. He hardly had the strength to even look at her. There was something unnatural about her, something not real. A thing you'd read about in a fictional book, perhaps a horror story. The whole mess was like a continuous horror story, his lost time ensnared in it. He wasn't sure if he was the villain or not. He knew that this was her game, and he would have to play by her rules if he wanted his existence back.

"Let me start from the beginning dear, my name is Edith Bliss and I am possibly your worst nightmare." She stared at him intently for a minute, waiting for something, searching for some clue of an emotion on him, then laughed shakily. "What a mess you are in, Hayden Hanesley, and let me you tell you, the worst is yet to come. So join me quickly, the clock is ticking and your time is running out, your go is almost over and round two is about to begin. We can play this game for all of eternity if you wish, i have time. You however do not, which is why I'm making an offer. Control yourself and help me catch the real people behind this whole trouble, and i will cure you. I have the power to. If you don't agree i'm afraid i'll have to execute you in the normal fashion for being a sickening serial killer of the worst kind blah blah blah. I'm sure the police won't mind me helping them out, it gets the job done quicker." She said this in a dull voice, as if the whole subject bored her. Edith was not one to leave things drag on. "You still haven't explained who you are and entirely what you want." Hayden said stubbornly. "If you are not going to explain, get out or else i will call the police to arrest you for trespassing on my property." Edith groaned and sat on the edge of the bed. "Your constant need for excessive detail is so boring. I already told you who I am and what I want. My name is Bliss, I am the underworld's number one bounty hunter, a death god if you like, and I would like you to assist me in catching the people who did this to Blue Haven and punish them. You can choose or die, to be honest its not my decision, its theirs, i suggest you hold on to your life, they have nasty ways of destroying your soul there. 'Purification' they call it." Edith added, tapping her bony fingers on the wooden part of the bed frame. "Tick tock tick tock" She sang in a quiet voice, "Your time is running out."

Hayden felt a surge of anger rising in his stomach. She was beyond irritating now. "Fine, I'll do it if you would just shut up, an eternity in hell would be better than to hear you sing about clocks again." Hayden spurt out. He only realised what he had agreed to afterwards. What the hell was he thinking? Edith stopped. "Very well then, you seem like an intelligent person, I like you already. But firstly I think I need to get you a new blade, your other one is pretty rusty. Where did you pick that up? The dump?" Edith said sarcastically and hopped off the mattress, which made a loud clanging noise as one of the springs broke.

"It used to be high quality.." Hayden started "That was twenty years ago, do you not remember?" Hayden shook his head. His memory had become foggy, after so many sleepless nights. "We have been long acquaintances. I even knew your family before you were born. Before anyone you knew was born. It doesn't feel that long ago. Anyway, enough reminiscing, have you met anyone going by the name Francis Gold at the moment?" Hayden shook his head. "Or perhaps does the name Quentin Bellerose ring a bell to you?" Edith said curiously. It felt odd being around Edith again. So that was what she had come for besides his soul. His face popped into his mind momentarily. "Yes... I think so, why?" There was something about Edith's face that made you want to run away in the opposite direction but at the same time, learn more about her. The look on her face then was the most terrible expression Hayden had ever seen on a person. It was disgusting. Her eyes were brimming with hunger, her smile oddly upturned at the edges because of her scars. "Quentin Sebastian Bellerose, I am afraid, must die."

He struggled to fight against the ropes that were tying him to a chair. He could feel her stinking, rotting breath on his ear. It didn't feel right, unnatural in a way, making him feel as though he had taken at all the wrong intervals, fake in other words. He sat as still and ridged as he could, trying not to make a single sound. The warehouse was filled with different cargo boxes, old iron hooks hanging from the ceiling. He had spent the last half hour eyeballing the entire place, looking for a way out but the was none. He was trapped with a psychopathic dead girl, whom was killed by his friend. And she wanted him dead. He could never forgive himself for letting Melody die. It was all his fault.
It had been a warm, humid, summer's day in mid May. Like always, he, Karl and Lucien walked home from the school together. The breeze blew softly through Lucien's golden hair, blowing it around and separating it into small, sandy coloured strands. They had just finished their exams and were finally finished up for the summer. It would not be long until they each had to go their separate ways, college and responsibilities were almost knocking at the door. Never could he have dreamt in all his nightmares what was going to happen. It had always been him, Karl and Lucien. Life had seemed so perfect. The last of the dusty pink cherry blossom flowers had fallen, their delicate petals left on the sidewalk. And just like their friendship and dreams, those petals were soon going to be smushed into the ground. No one could have predicted it. Karl just lost it. Their was no explanation. No note. No reason or questioning. It had happened so fast and so suddenly, Quentin often wondered if Karl had even completely thought it through before he did it. They found her the next day, floating at the bank of the river in the park. Two ten year olds had found the body when one of them kicked their ball over next to the river. An autopsy had confirmed she was at least a day dead. It was all quiet, the funeral was private and the trial was held discretely. Karl was found guilty and sentenced to a life in jail, he didn't object. In fact, he turned himself in to the authorities. Everyone at school turned on him and Lucien, and so they became the outsiders, the murder's friends. For a while, Quentin began to question if his existence had any significance at all. Now it was happening again, the lonliness, the deaths. Quentin shuddered as Melody whispered into his ear.
"You killed me, Quentin, not Karl. And now you are going to pay for what you did to me."