Flower

Chapter One: Rose

Chapter One: Rose

I could not reply. All I could do was stare at these two women that looked completely identical as both wore crisp black dresses that breathed at their paled kneecaps and hands folded at the front. So perfectly identical the only thing different between them was the height at which they stood. The one who gave me the warning stood at the tallest with her shoulders square and pitch black hair that stopped at her chin tucked behind her ears. While the other was shorter with her shoulders rounded in and her hair falling in front of her face.

"A, please get the kit." the tallest asked as she still stared intently at me, as if I would run at any second. The shortest one, which I presume was A, began to walk down a darkly lit hall and disappeared behind a click of a door. "I know you're scared. But right now all you can do is trust me, okay?" she smiled as she squatted down to my level. "My name is L by the way."

"L?" I asked pulling my eyebrows in a knot which caused more warm liquid to begin to fall down my battered face.

"He doesn't want us to be identified as the person from our past. We are His now, not anyone else's." before I could continue with all the questions that began to swirl within my head, A came back with a first aid kit that swung breathlessly at her hip.

"Thanks." L smiled as her boney fingers gently took the kit and it sat it on my lap. "I will get you fixed up and then we will get you to his liking." she spoke with a smile that did not quite reach her amber eyes.

As she began to lightly dap my wounds with alcohol and a cotton pad the truth of what I had gotten into arose to the surface. I was gone. I was taken. I was scared, terrified actually. Would I ever see my family again? Would I ever see my friends again? Would I ever walk out of those French double doors?

"Hun? Let's go get you fixed. He will be down soon." standing up she outstretched her hand in an elegant manner and slightly smirked down at me as her hand waited for mine to join it. Prudently my hand made its decision to connect with hers, sealing my unfortunate fate as she started walking down the dark hall.

Following where her hand led me, I finally took in where I was at. We were walking on crème carpet that has darkened with age and usage over the years. The only furniture that filled the small space was a dark, blood-red love seat, the white chair that I walked from, and a cherry red bookcase and end table that sat just ajar from the chair and the couch. Placed deliberately in the center of the end table sat a single black rose. It just laid there on the table in no vase, near no water; just slowly dying upon a table.

As we rounded the corner, a hall that contained three doors and an arch way opened up to us.

"This door here, on our left, is the bathroom. This door here is A and I's bedroom. And that door there, right across from the kitchen is yours." she smiled, patting my shoulder.

"Why am I by myself?" I inquired, still studying the door that will become the only thing that I owned.

"It was a special request from Him, himself. It was my room, but what he wants, he gets." she answered, pursing her lips with her chin tilted high as if to show Him she did not care.

Before I could think about her façade she turned and pulled me into the fading bathroom where A was sitting on the closed toilet seat, staring at her feet. No words were passed from my lips as I was pushed to A.

"Have at her." a voice behind me spoke with a slam of the door to follow.

"Please sit in the floor." A lightly spoke as if speaking would kill her. Sparing a glance at her before I sat on the cracked gray-blue tile I saw haunted, hooded eyes that spoke in a whisper. Just by looking at her you could tell her end was near. You could tell she was not willing to fight anymore, she gave up. Her eyes were a paling, sickening green as if they also knew the end was near.