Scarlet

15 | Family Dinner

"Damaged people are dangerous. They know how to make hell feel like home."

♢♦♢

Day Seven

Scarlet had her eyes closed tightly shut as she sat on a chair of the dining table. It was to mimic the absence of light, but the hideous orange shade she could see told her otherwise. She hated the bright lights shining from the ceiling above, and the loud murmurs of her brothers and sisters that conversed with each other.

The dining table had twelve chairs. But tonight, only ten would be occupied, since Hazel and Dahlia weren't able to join them. Nine chairs were being used at the moment, and all nine occupants waited for their father patiently.

Much to her dismay, Scarlet sat the closest towards the chair at the head of the table; that was where her father was going to sit. To her left sat Emerald, then Ebony, then Azure. To Scarlet's opposite sat Gray, and next to him sat Flame, Pearl, Deuce, and Violet in that order.

Ebony was talking to Emerald and Azure with enthusiasm. To put it simply, Ebony was an extrovert. She was quite lively and loved talking to her family members. But in contrast to her outgoing nature, she preferred to kill people from a distance. She was a sniper, and she had never missed a shot.

Like her name suggested, every physical attribute of hers was dark. Her skin was a beautiful mocha-brown. Her hair was dark brown but looked black, and so did her eyes.

Azure simply nodded along to what Ebony said with clear boredom and uninterest. Just like Gray and Scarlet, he was one who had trouble expressing emotion. He wasn't introverted, he just didn't like to talk too much and preferred to stay quiet.

His name perfectly described the color of his eyes; they were a mesmerizing azure-blue. His hair was jet black, and his skin was fairly tan. Azure loved killing his victims with machetes. But instead of gutting them like Scarlet did, he'd decapitate their heads.

Gray watched the siblings argue beside him with boredom. Pearl tried punching Flame and he avoided each one successfully with a fit of laughs. At times, Gray even had to steer clear of the forks and spoons that Pearl tossed at Flame but he had dodged them.

Flame was a name that suited him perfectly, both in his features and personality traits. He was a firecracker, and he loved picking on his siblings for good fun. Some gave him the reaction that he wanted, while others didn't react at all.

Aside from that, he was a ginger, so his hair was a deep orange. Freckles of a darker color painted his pale cheeks and nose. Flame's way of killing was destructive on a larger scale. He'd place bombs or set immediate fires to his targets' homes. It was done in such a way that his victims never came out alive, and the firefighters always lost to his tricks.

Pearl on the other hand, was an albino. The name fit her flawlessly. With no melanin present in any part of her body, she was pearl-white throughout, except for her eyes that were a chocolate brown. Her curly hair was platinum, and so were her eyelashes. As far as her personality went, well, she bonded well with everyone except Flame. She loved him like a sibling and vice versa, but they argued almost every single day.

She preferred to use guns over weapons that contained blades. Pearl owned a pair of identical revolvers. Her victims were always found with a bullet lodged in both of their eyes, and in the middle of the forehead. On some occasions, when it came to male dead bodies, autopsies found out that their groins had been shot at too.

Deuce's head rested on the table as he dozed off, completely oblivious to everything that went on around him. Occasionally, he was Flame's partner in crime. Deuce was a little troublemaker too, and he sometimes joined hands with Flame when it came to bullying or teasing his siblings.

The binary nature of his name made sense, since it described a condition that he had; Heterochromia. Each of his eyes were a separate color. His right eye was light brown, and his left an icy blue. Contrary to his name, Deuce only had one weapon. He used his beloved hammer, and he always took his time with his victims. The sounds their bones made when they were subject to the hammer was like music to Deuce's ears, and by the end, the bodies were unrecognizable.

A frustrated Violet sat beside the sleeping Deuce. Her eyes were fixated on the phone in her hands, and she tried beating the same level of a game for the past few minutes. Violet was named after the purple birthmark on her right arm. As a child she was ashamed and tried to hide it, but now, she was proud of it.

The ends of her chestnut-colored hair were dyed purple. Her eyes were a blueish-green, and her skin was a caramel brown. Violet preferred to strangle her victims. She felt that cutting them open caused an unnecessary mess, so she chose to tie a rope around their neck and deprive them of air until they died. All her victims would be found with a ring of purple bruising around their neck, and not a drop of life left in their bodies.

Overall, the order of the siblings from oldest to youngest was; Emerald, Azure, Scarlet, Gray, Deuce, Ebony, Dahlia, Violet, Hazel, Pearl, and Flame.

Their loud voices had quieted down all of a sudden which caught Scarlet's attention, but she still didn't open her eyes. Then, she felt a sharp jab in her right rib. She snapped her head to glare at Emerald in irritation when Scarlet realized she had elbowed her. The eldest sibling jerked her chin in a certain direction and Scarlet looked that way.

"Sorry for being late, my loves."

Scarlet tensed up almost immediately when she saw her father come into the dining room. He pulled on his chair and sat down at the head of the table, and his gaze glided over everyone else. An endearing smile rested on his lips as he eyed his diverse children with adoration.

"It's alright."
"Hey, it's cool."
"Hi dad."
"Good evening, father."

All the siblings spoke up simultaneously to reassure and greet their father. All, except one. Despite the mask of nonchalance on Scarlet's face, her insides were a mixture of dread and anxiety.

"Let's all eat then." And with that, everyone began piling up their plates with the several dishes of food on the table. Some claimed spoonfuls of mashed-potatoes and gravy. Some took pieces of the roast chicken. Some even fought for the best slice of lasagna. Scarlet settled for some baked macaroni and a chicken leg.

"By the way, I have some good news." The aged man declared with evident satisfaction in his tone, effectively catching everyone's attention. Scarlet's too. The fork in her hand paused right in front of her mouth, and she pulled it away to look at her father.

"After Scarlet finishes her mission, I'm giving you all a four-month long break. No assigned tasks, no nothing. You all can relax and do whatever you want."

A moment of silence followed after his explanation. Clearly, everyone was surprised. Even Scarlet. They all looked at him, then at each other with confusion written on their faces. Yet, no one dared to speak up. Flame was about to, but Pearl pinched his thigh to shut him up.

"Now, I'm sure you're all wondering why I took such a decision." He stated, and before he could carry on, a flat voice from his left cut him off.

"I know why you took such a decision."