I have not come back to this once which I feel shows how much of a writer I am – start a project with good intentions but then fail to come back to it for months. I very much apologise and hope to post a whole lot more now that I am back to studying once again.
I am taking a creative writing course!! So, I will end up with a whole bunch of writings to share as well as my wailings about assignments and such. Without a specific topic to talk about I may as well share one. Feedback is greatly appreciative! It’s not finely tuned but to me, that’s not the point. I just want to share the things I create.
Home
A new place. New things. Possibly, even, a new home. That’s how Alyse thought of it, at least. It felt like forever since she had experienced having a sense of belonging. Some figured she had lost it when she and her brother had been abandoned but that wasn’t true; it had been two years ago when she ‘discovered’ that brother dearest had a need to kill.
It was hard, though, when ‘home’ wasn’t necessarily a physical place but a feeling. And that was what she was thinking as she glanced around the town they had just arrived in. It looked cute; a pavement drawn out into a would-be populated area that held a variety of stores and market places. It was what one would think would make a good home but that didn’t automatically make it one.
With that in mind Alyse broke the silence with a beseeching, “Aussie, please would you refrain from murdering anyone here.” If she wanted a fair chance at recapturing a lost feeling then she needed things to go a certain way – ie have things be the way they were before, when she was happy.
“Aly, would I do that?” It was a rhetorical question and one that had a clear answer: yes, yes he would. Though they were siblings, he was inherently selfish, especially when it came to matters of her happiness. He needed her to stay with him and so took every opportunity to ruin what would make her otherwise complete.
And asking him not to do something was just playing into his hand.
Silence developed around them once more as they walked. Both of them were primarily night owls so darkness had fallen by the time they had arrived. With night came a lack of people, and so the two drifted through the town unnoticed. Good thing too, in hindsight, as they were both dressed in rather conspicuous attire.
“Do you think- “ The young girl began, about to inquire where to seek residence for the night. But before she could get the words out, she was shushed by her brother.
Initially confused, she glanced in his direction before following his gaze. A couple of dozen feet ahead of them was a young man walking. He looked to be in his mid-twenties, of wiry build. And, more importantly in a certain brother’s eyes, he was alone.
“Austin no- “ Alyse began again, only to be cut off once more. It was no use anyway. She knew – however inadvertently – that she had given her brother a challenge. If you told him no, he would bite back yes a million times harder. And in many cases, that bite was accompanied by a knife.
The young man spared his sister no glance as he moved silently ahead of her. Usually the need to draw blood was something that coursed through him – a literal need. This time though, it was just for fun. A knife was kept taped to his abdomen and he withdrew that, approaching his victim like a lioness would her next meal. The young man in front of them was completely oblivious – Austin had just become too good at this. With a swift move, the blade of the knife was taken to the other’s throat and sliced up across the jugular. Instantly blood spurted out of the man and Austin embraced him tightly from behind for a few beats before releasing him and allowing the body to drop to the ground.
Behind him, Alyse just stared. She had watched her brother kill many times and had forced herself to grow numb to it. Numb to the horror of a life leaving a body. Numb to the fact that someone who shared the same blood as her was capable of committing such an act. Numb to the idea that any day it could be her that is taken in the same way. Silence emerged. Then some more. And then finally she whispered, “Does he have a cell phone?”
It was an odd question to ask, but a necessary one. Neither sibling carried a mobile device on them but there was now a dead body in the street that needed to be dealt with. Travelling frequently meant that they made various friends and they had one who could take care of this predicament.
With a sense of carelessness about him, Austin approached the body and checked through the pockets. The first was empty but he moved his hand to a back pocket and was met with success. Withdrawing it, he walked over to his sister and handed it over to her. He was met with a contemptuous gaze but it softened almost as quickly as it had risen. Alyse couldn’t blame him for this. He just… couldn’t help himself and why would she ever fault him for that?
Turning in place, she led the way back the way they came while simultaneously dialling a number. “Hey Koda, it’s Aly.” She started, raising the phone to her ear. “It happened again.”
The pair of redheads made their way back through the town; heading for the exit. A new place. New things. But this couldn’t possibly be a new home. Home would never be somewhere where Alyse in one way or another caused the death of someone else. But that was okay, right? There was always another place to go. Billions of them. And Austin couldn’t murder someone everywhere they went…could he?
Shay's Corner 