The Degenerates - Under Edit

e l e v e n - under edit

It was dawn. The sun broke through the clouds, against all odds, and cast an orange glare across the horizon. The glare washed over the trees, the otherwise green leaves now a burnt amber. I tensed under my doona, my skin pressed against the hood of my car, begging the sun to reach my bones even to give them just a pulse of heat. That warmth never came, and I stayed bundled under the blanket.

My first couple of days in Alsbury had been nothing short of cathartic; but almost to the point that I barely remembered who I was, or what my life was like previously, my past self becoming nothing more than a mere memory of what felt like 50 years ago.

I felt as if I had been thrust into a different dimension. My body was here, but my consciousness had travelled and launched itself into this new person with new environments and new beginnings.

The sun had reached my face, a tinge of warmth spread across my cheeks. I let myself feel momentarily free. This halted however, as too many events that I was trying to suppress rippled to the surface. Brad was missing, James was dead, Theo was after me, Trey didn't want me, Sasha was angry with me, Lila was in a state of despair, and I couldn't find the will in me to confront any of these things.

I was caught in the middle of a storm; and whilst I chose to ignore some things, others loomed overhead. James's death was something I couldn't stop thinking about, and it wasn't a coincidence that Brad had gone missing at exactly the same time. Lila was one of my closest friend's now, and I let myself think the worst about Brad, did that mean Lila was in danger? And with Lila in danger, did that mean I was too?

Trey refused to reach the Police, even to tip them off about the body. He became agitated, quickly shutting down my multiple attempts at convincing. The closest thing I got was Lila, who had put in the missing person's report. It had been way over 24 hours now, so it was likely they'd start to venture around.

The car beneath my backside hadn't warm up much; and the steely exterior was becoming harder to be comfortable on.

I thought about ways I could fix some of my every growing list of problems; and I gathered I could easily kill two birds with one stone. I could reel Sasha back in, and bring myself back to life too.

I pencilled that idea in after my lecture. I'd yet to talk to Lila about her report, so I had basically nothing to conduct my own investigation. Every day I spent in Albury unravelled a new string of secrets, the more I was subjected to, the more I was drawn under. If I kept myself at arms length, I could peek over the friendships and masks to unveil was it was really like in Albury, and who everybody really was.

My immediate threat was the notorious Trey Arden. He had wrapped me up and pulled me in. I was blind; I couldn't see the forest for the trees. After watching his numerous encounters with Theo, the way Sasha recoiled each time he was around, and the fact he was so adamant to stay away from law enforcement planted a tiny black seed in the centre of my imagination. Who was Trey Arden?

He had pulled me close and run his fingers through my hair, pressed my back to his chest, kissed me like he needed oxygen but had forgotten how to breathe. I melted into the boy like wax.

I realised then that Trey Arden was nothing but bad for me, a hurdle in my path that I had needed to clear. I had wondered if he were just distracting me, steering me away from something unholy.

I brought my knuckles to my chin, thinking. I couldn't trust Trey. I didn't know if he were telling me the total truth, or any of it for that matter. I had to go to someone who would be happy to step on his toes, and hopefully give me enough to work with. Sasha was out of the question, because all she gave me were cryptic answers and she had an insatiable vendetta against him.

I also wondered if I were in the right state of mind. I was about to hurl myself in the centre of a deadly spider web, never quite knowing when she'll come home. But if it meant I'd be able to keep myself, and my friends safe, there was no question about it.

I let myself back into the dorms at 7. My face was dry and hard after last night, and I still felt dirty. I was longing for a warm shower, because after my sunrise watch, my fingers were about to fall off.

I pushed open our dorm door and Lila jumped up, but her face fell and she slumped back down on the bed. "I thought it was Brad."

"Sorry," I said.

"But I was worried, where did you go yesterday afternoon? You didn't come home," Lila said, her brown eyes huge and red, like she hadn't slept, "I'm so paranoid."

"I know, I'm sorry, I actually crashed at Trey's, we stayed up late to research some stuff in our Psych lecture."

Lila eyed me cautiously, "Did anything happen?"

I chuckled, "Nothing at all, in fact, it was rather boring," I tossed my keys and phone on my bed, "Do you think Sasha is still mad?"

Lila shrugged, "She's petty, but I'm sure she'll come around."

She's petty, fabulous, "Right. Well, I really want to get my hair done today, maybe after 10? I'd love for her to come, and you too, if you feel up for it."

Lila perked up, "I could really use a freshen up too,"

"Alright, well, could you call her? I really have to shower and get to class," I beamed at her and stalked into the bathroom.

One way I could navigate my way through this maze was to ensure I had no enemies, I wasn't about to be dropped headfirst into a snake den because I couldn't watch my back.

--

The hairdresser ran her fingers through my hair at the basin, my neck stiffened and I could feel a bruise forming where the neck of the basin sat. I tried to relax as she massaged conditioner into my hair, rinsing out the blonde highlights I had sat in the chair for two hours for to develop.

Lila was expressing her feelings of anxiety to a younger hair dresser, who was talking along with her and massaging her scalp to help her 'relive some of the stress'.

"So, you spent the night at Trey's?" Sasha asked, she was reclined in a massage chair, a face mask on, eyes closed.

I bristled a little, "Oh yeah," I said casually, "I just crashed on the lounge."

"He wouldn't even give you the bed?" She asked pointedly.

"Oh, no big deal," I lied, "I didn't even mean to stay."

"Have you spoken today?"

"No," I said, which is true, Trey has not spoken to me since, nor did he rock up to Psych, "I'm sure I'll see him around."

"He seemed awfully eager to talk to you yesterday afternoon,"

I sighed, easing my frustration, and it did help that the lady had begun some sort of head massage, "He just wanted help catching up on his Psych notes,"

"I heard he was very intelligent,"

"What's your deal with him Sash? Did he do something? Do you have history?"

Sasha barely moved in her seat, "Depends what you mean by that,"

I sighed heavily, exasperated, "If you can't answer me, then how can you expect me to believe you?"

Lila had stopped talking to her hairdresser, "Sasha..."

Sasha finally opened her eyes and sat up to face me, "Some people are just born bad, it's in their blood."