Killing Oleander
Oleander, Rose, and Declan
Three people. Two males and a female. One mattress. A camera rolling.
Rose looks over in the corner at her boyfriend again. She can barely see him through her swollen eyes, leaking tears and goopy mascara. She can taste blood in between her missing teeth and she can hardly breathe through the snot pouring from her nose, over her lips.
Her boyfriend, Declan is on the other side of the room. Bot of his arms are behind his back, the metal of the handcuffs slicing open his wrists with every miniscule move he dared himself to make. He is naked besides his underwear and his chest rises and falls slowly as he tries to keep himself alive. Blood pours down his chest and his left foot is twisted underneath his ass.
The mattress that separates the couple is the dirtiest thing either one of them has ever seen. It was an off white, turned a disgusting yellow. Menstrual blood stains one side of the bed, and on the other side a hole is where a man might’ve slept. If Rose leans forward, she can smell the rotting stench wafting away from it.
The cameraman, let’s call him Oleander. He sits behind an old camcorder, one from the late 80’s. Big and clunky, plugged into the wall to keep it from dying. His body is shaking from the adrenaline. His hair is long and greasy, hanging in strands around his face. His face is clean shaven, and he smells like piss. He’s wearing Declan’s clothes over his. And over Declan’s clothes, he’s wearing Rose’s bra and her panties. Around his neck is an old key with two teeth on the end of it, about four inches long. It hangs from a leather string.
The walls are covered in ugly wallpaper. The kind of wallpaper that make grown up children want to renovate their mother’s houses. It’s peeling at the very bottom of the walls, curling upwards. The baseboards are warped and yellow, stinking like rotting wood. There are bloody handprints covering the wall behind Rose, about as fresh as the sweat pouring down her face.
There’s a door kiddie corner from Declan and within arm’s reach of Rose. The door knob is one of those old crystal ones that might shatter if the door hits the wall too hard and one of those locks that you can see through. It’s closed and all three of them are locked inside the room, with somewhere to go, but no way to get there.
Rose dares to look up at the man, her voice aching to scream, to yell; to do absolutely anything. But all she can do is flinch as he pretends to throw another punch at her. She is not close enough for him to actually make contact with her face, but he’s tricked her so many times tonight, that she can’t trust him.
His mouth opens and it’s full of ugly teeth, half of them capped in sliver crowns and the other ones missing. He grins and spits at her feet. “So what’s the deal, pretty girl? You gonna take me up on my offer?”
She slams her eyes shut as he throws the gun. It lands in her lap, clattering against the tile floor and hitting her leg. Her right hand hovers over it, shaking and trembling. Sweat drips from between her fingers and she takes in a harsh breath.
“Come on, you were right weren’t you Rose? You were always fucking right.” He laughs. “So prove it. Kill me. Shoot me in the fucking head.”
Rose can’t answer, even though she wants to. She can’t even move her mouth. She lifts up her head to stare at the man that had once been slightly important to her. The older brother that she outsmarted when she was younger. The older brother than had finally learned how to be just as smart as his little sister.
Slightly smarter, evidently.
Her hand touches the gun now, so cold and daring. She felt so evil holding the heavy piece of metal in her hand. In the corner, Declan was half alive, surviving on his girlfriend’s voice.
Oleander pulls another gun off the ground and points it at Declan. “Come on, Rosie. It’s me or him. Fucking shoot me now or he’s gone.”
“I can’t kill you, you’re my brother.”
“You and everyone else said I wouldn’t live past fucking 19. Look at me now,” he takes in a deep breath and lets it out. “I’m one day before my nineteenth birthday, Rose. Better kill me now? Would you kill to prove you were right?”
“I’m not going to do it, Andy.” She says, lifting the gun in the air, holding it towards herself. “I’d kill myself before I’d kill you.”
“You have ten seconds Rosie, darling.” He snarls, taking a step closer to Declan. “Tell me, would you kill to save someone’s life?”
Declan tries moving again.
10.
Oleander laughs.
9.
Rose sobs loudly.
8.
Andy counts out loud. Like they were playing hide and seek.
7.
The gun touches Rose’s temple.
6.
Declan tries to speak to Rose.
5.
They’re halfway there.
4.
Tears begin to fall from Andy’s eyes.
3.
Rose moves her arm.
2.
Declan finally yells. But no words come out.
1.
Two guns go off at once.
The sound is so menacing, so loud, the entire room shakes. Two bodies hit the ground. Two arms pointed away from themselves.
And in the corner, Declan is still struggling to free himself, covered in the brains and blood of two siblings, torn apart by their own parents.
Rose looks over in the corner at her boyfriend again. She can barely see him through her swollen eyes, leaking tears and goopy mascara. She can taste blood in between her missing teeth and she can hardly breathe through the snot pouring from her nose, over her lips.
Her boyfriend, Declan is on the other side of the room. Bot of his arms are behind his back, the metal of the handcuffs slicing open his wrists with every miniscule move he dared himself to make. He is naked besides his underwear and his chest rises and falls slowly as he tries to keep himself alive. Blood pours down his chest and his left foot is twisted underneath his ass.
The mattress that separates the couple is the dirtiest thing either one of them has ever seen. It was an off white, turned a disgusting yellow. Menstrual blood stains one side of the bed, and on the other side a hole is where a man might’ve slept. If Rose leans forward, she can smell the rotting stench wafting away from it.
The cameraman, let’s call him Oleander. He sits behind an old camcorder, one from the late 80’s. Big and clunky, plugged into the wall to keep it from dying. His body is shaking from the adrenaline. His hair is long and greasy, hanging in strands around his face. His face is clean shaven, and he smells like piss. He’s wearing Declan’s clothes over his. And over Declan’s clothes, he’s wearing Rose’s bra and her panties. Around his neck is an old key with two teeth on the end of it, about four inches long. It hangs from a leather string.
The walls are covered in ugly wallpaper. The kind of wallpaper that make grown up children want to renovate their mother’s houses. It’s peeling at the very bottom of the walls, curling upwards. The baseboards are warped and yellow, stinking like rotting wood. There are bloody handprints covering the wall behind Rose, about as fresh as the sweat pouring down her face.
There’s a door kiddie corner from Declan and within arm’s reach of Rose. The door knob is one of those old crystal ones that might shatter if the door hits the wall too hard and one of those locks that you can see through. It’s closed and all three of them are locked inside the room, with somewhere to go, but no way to get there.
Rose dares to look up at the man, her voice aching to scream, to yell; to do absolutely anything. But all she can do is flinch as he pretends to throw another punch at her. She is not close enough for him to actually make contact with her face, but he’s tricked her so many times tonight, that she can’t trust him.
His mouth opens and it’s full of ugly teeth, half of them capped in sliver crowns and the other ones missing. He grins and spits at her feet. “So what’s the deal, pretty girl? You gonna take me up on my offer?”
She slams her eyes shut as he throws the gun. It lands in her lap, clattering against the tile floor and hitting her leg. Her right hand hovers over it, shaking and trembling. Sweat drips from between her fingers and she takes in a harsh breath.
“Come on, you were right weren’t you Rose? You were always fucking right.” He laughs. “So prove it. Kill me. Shoot me in the fucking head.”
Rose can’t answer, even though she wants to. She can’t even move her mouth. She lifts up her head to stare at the man that had once been slightly important to her. The older brother that she outsmarted when she was younger. The older brother than had finally learned how to be just as smart as his little sister.
Slightly smarter, evidently.
Her hand touches the gun now, so cold and daring. She felt so evil holding the heavy piece of metal in her hand. In the corner, Declan was half alive, surviving on his girlfriend’s voice.
Oleander pulls another gun off the ground and points it at Declan. “Come on, Rosie. It’s me or him. Fucking shoot me now or he’s gone.”
“I can’t kill you, you’re my brother.”
“You and everyone else said I wouldn’t live past fucking 19. Look at me now,” he takes in a deep breath and lets it out. “I’m one day before my nineteenth birthday, Rose. Better kill me now? Would you kill to prove you were right?”
“I’m not going to do it, Andy.” She says, lifting the gun in the air, holding it towards herself. “I’d kill myself before I’d kill you.”
“You have ten seconds Rosie, darling.” He snarls, taking a step closer to Declan. “Tell me, would you kill to save someone’s life?”
Declan tries moving again.
10.
Oleander laughs.
9.
Rose sobs loudly.
8.
Andy counts out loud. Like they were playing hide and seek.
7.
The gun touches Rose’s temple.
6.
Declan tries to speak to Rose.
5.
They’re halfway there.
4.
Tears begin to fall from Andy’s eyes.
3.
Rose moves her arm.
2.
Declan finally yells. But no words come out.
1.
Two guns go off at once.
The sound is so menacing, so loud, the entire room shakes. Two bodies hit the ground. Two arms pointed away from themselves.
And in the corner, Declan is still struggling to free himself, covered in the brains and blood of two siblings, torn apart by their own parents.
♠ ♠ ♠
This came out a lot darker than I was expecting, but I think it's one of my favorites.