We're All a Little Insane
Safety In The Darkness
Emily Gray and Violet Mars walked silently side by side on the way home from school. The sky was not a comforting shade of grey like it was most days. No, today, the sky was the sick dismal pale of a corpse's skin. Emily lifted her gaze above the trees to the sky, and saw the colour of her own eyes reflected back at her. The breeze was stinging. She dropped her glance back down to her shoes. Violet looked at her chance aqquaintince with a bleak expression. Violet opened her mouth to speak, but quickly shut it, as they had arrived at Emily's house.
"Well, goodbye then, " Emily said rather coldly as she fumbled for her key.
"Alright. Bye, " Violet responded. She continued to walk down the sidewalk, her dark, shoulder-length hair swaying slightly in the breeze.
On her way up to the attic where her room was, Emily was stopped by her older brother, Rene.
"Hey, Em. What's wrong? You look all emo," he said with sincere concern in his eyes.
" 's nothing. Please let me by. I'm very tired." Emily gracefully tip-toed up the steep staircase and into her room. She closed the sturdy, wooden door behind her and locked it. Emily took the sizable skeleton key and the locket she was wearing and hid them both under the floorboard. She liked this house because it was old. Old houses tend to harbor secrets and history.
Emily walked over to the big window on the opposite side of the drafty room. She closed the black, opaque curtains. The room went dark instantly. Emily, humming a haunting tune to herself softly, sat on the edge of her small bed. She drew a wide peice of white chalk out of a small silver box that was on her bed-side table. Emily, chalk and box in hand, strode towards the middle of the room, where she sat down on the empty floor. She took the chalk and started writing something on the unfinished wood surface.
"J-U-L-I-E-T B-L-A-I-R, " Emily wispered aloud as she scratched the name into the floor. Suddenly, she heard a knock at the door. She dropped her chalk and turnd around.
"Emily..." an unfamiliar, male, voice said softly. Emily kept quiet.
"Emily, I know you're in there. Answer me please." She did not answer. She held her breath and hoped that he, whoever he was, would leave her be.
"Okay, Emily. I'll leave for now, but, I'll be back, " the stranger said, in a tone that made her shudder, as if in responce to her thoughts.
When Emily was confident that he had left, she replaced the chalk in her box, and put the box back upon her nightstand. She unearthed the key from her floorboard and unlocked her door. Before she climbed down the stairs, she relocked her door from the outside. Emily went into the kitchen and took an apple from the fridge. She carefully avoided her brother by going out the back door. She took a seat under the large dead oaktree that only remainded there because it was too expensive to move it out. She nibbled at her apple for a while, wondering what happened to trees when they died.
She must have fallen asleep, for Emily woke to raindrops on her forhead and the comforting sound of thunder. For a few moments she just sat there, contemplating the idea of just waiting to be struck by lightning, or drown in the rain. She shook off the thought and got up slowly. As Emily began her trek back to the house, she noticed how unnaturally quiet it was...
Emily went to her room, laid on her bed and quickly fell asleep.
The next day...
"EMILY!!" her brother shouted up to her room, shaking her out of a dreamless sleep. She hurriedly got out of bed and ran downstairs. She went into the dining room where Rene was standing. He had on a horrified expression as he was holding up the front page of the newspaper. There was a picture of a girl on it. She looked very familiar. Emily read the headline and let out an audible gasp. The paper read, "MIDDLE-SCHOOL GIRL, JULIET BLAIR, DEAD"
"Well, goodbye then, " Emily said rather coldly as she fumbled for her key.
"Alright. Bye, " Violet responded. She continued to walk down the sidewalk, her dark, shoulder-length hair swaying slightly in the breeze.
On her way up to the attic where her room was, Emily was stopped by her older brother, Rene.
"Hey, Em. What's wrong? You look all emo," he said with sincere concern in his eyes.
" 's nothing. Please let me by. I'm very tired." Emily gracefully tip-toed up the steep staircase and into her room. She closed the sturdy, wooden door behind her and locked it. Emily took the sizable skeleton key and the locket she was wearing and hid them both under the floorboard. She liked this house because it was old. Old houses tend to harbor secrets and history.
Emily walked over to the big window on the opposite side of the drafty room. She closed the black, opaque curtains. The room went dark instantly. Emily, humming a haunting tune to herself softly, sat on the edge of her small bed. She drew a wide peice of white chalk out of a small silver box that was on her bed-side table. Emily, chalk and box in hand, strode towards the middle of the room, where she sat down on the empty floor. She took the chalk and started writing something on the unfinished wood surface.
"J-U-L-I-E-T B-L-A-I-R, " Emily wispered aloud as she scratched the name into the floor. Suddenly, she heard a knock at the door. She dropped her chalk and turnd around.
"Emily..." an unfamiliar, male, voice said softly. Emily kept quiet.
"Emily, I know you're in there. Answer me please." She did not answer. She held her breath and hoped that he, whoever he was, would leave her be.
"Okay, Emily. I'll leave for now, but, I'll be back, " the stranger said, in a tone that made her shudder, as if in responce to her thoughts.
When Emily was confident that he had left, she replaced the chalk in her box, and put the box back upon her nightstand. She unearthed the key from her floorboard and unlocked her door. Before she climbed down the stairs, she relocked her door from the outside. Emily went into the kitchen and took an apple from the fridge. She carefully avoided her brother by going out the back door. She took a seat under the large dead oaktree that only remainded there because it was too expensive to move it out. She nibbled at her apple for a while, wondering what happened to trees when they died.
She must have fallen asleep, for Emily woke to raindrops on her forhead and the comforting sound of thunder. For a few moments she just sat there, contemplating the idea of just waiting to be struck by lightning, or drown in the rain. She shook off the thought and got up slowly. As Emily began her trek back to the house, she noticed how unnaturally quiet it was...
Emily went to her room, laid on her bed and quickly fell asleep.
The next day...
"EMILY!!" her brother shouted up to her room, shaking her out of a dreamless sleep. She hurriedly got out of bed and ran downstairs. She went into the dining room where Rene was standing. He had on a horrified expression as he was holding up the front page of the newspaper. There was a picture of a girl on it. She looked very familiar. Emily read the headline and let out an audible gasp. The paper read, "MIDDLE-SCHOOL GIRL, JULIET BLAIR, DEAD"