FLOWERS

Alstroemerias

Lilly could feel the wind blowing on her face as the big red convertible rounded another corner. This corner was a sharper turn than the last, but Sam seemed to know what he was doing on joyrides such as these. Lilly loved this. The small moments with Sam when they were doing something reckless. Those were the memories she most. Torturing some annoying teenager in a basement in a house that didn't belong to them. Robbing a store with nothing but a baseball bat and then raining the money down the freeway as the weaved between car after car. That was what they were doing now. It was a normal saturday night tradition that kicked off their big weekend plans, not that they had any this weekend. Normally they'd be preparing for an episode of The Funhouse, but no, not tonight. They were off the grid, running away from the world. Lilly didn't mind though, she had Sam by her side. As long as she had him, everything was fine. Nothing could possibly go wrong.

Sam swerved onto an exit that was leading the opposite direction, sending giant metal bullets full of men, women, children and a dog that Sam got a short glance at, careening off of the side of the ramp. The sound of an explosion and a blaze of orange and black was all that was left of ol' Barker after a moment of silence following the car's demise. Sam only felt guilt for a moment as more cars flew past at a continually increasing speed. There was no time for thought, only action. That was when the sound of a police siren went off. Not that either of the psycho's were bothered. Lilly would like to see any police officer follow them as they drove on the wrong side of the freeway. Lily did not fear impending death, but she knew humans did. Fear would most likely deter any attempt at halting their fun.

Sam felt nearly the same as Lilly, but for much different reasons. Being a suicidal maniac seemed to have its positives, as well as its negatives.

The rush of adrenaline passing through Sam's body tempted him to push even further into the chaos in which he was devising. Maybe 110 miles per hour, now 120. There was no stopping the bright red convertab-

The car slammed into a Van, holding a tired mom with a reaction time just slightly too slow. Sam and Lilly flipped into the air. In one moment, Sam went from ecstasy, to feeling the guilt for every sin he had ever committed. He looked over at Lilly who was still smiling. Fearless as always. The car smashed into the concrete divider, flinging Lilly's body to the other side of the road, directly into the windshield of a truck. In just one second, she was gone. Just as fast as all the deaths Sam had watched her give in the past. He didn't get to feel the impact or her death, as the impact of his face becoming one with pavement took its place. Reliefe.

---

Sam shot up in a panic, nearly hyperventilating. He looked down at Lilly to see her still passed out, asleep in his arms. Still alive. The feeling of stress returned to Sam as he realised that he hadn't just died, but was in fact, still alive, still running and quite guilty for a number of murders that he could no longer feasibley count. And where did he find himself in the middle of such a predicament? Sleeping amongst countless homeless individuals under a bridge somewhere in Oklahoma. No Red convertible, no fun, no reliefe. Still stuck.

Sam hated to say it, but he was tired. Not just physically, but emotionally. He felt used up. Exhausted from the full life that he felt he had already lived. You see, Sam had this philosophy that could be the only possible reality in his eyes. With every life he took, more life drained from his person. Like some sort of sick trade. This caused a feeling of withering that seemed to ache throughout the body. The joints felt tighter, the brain felt foggier and the muscles felt weaker. As if he was dying. At a quick tortuous speed that felt like a car on a highway that never ends. Just constantly moving closer and closer but never getting anywhere. Sam wondered if Lilly felt similar. Surely her sins wayed as heavy on her as they did Sam. Of course, this was more than incorrect. The only thing on her shoulders was Sam's arm. Tension had never entered Lilly's body as there was never anything to worry about. Nothing mattered. But Sam would never be able to understand that. Sam was human. More human than he'd like to admit.