Tyranny

Blood Red Clotts

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Anaïs

“ Evil, I've come to tell you that she's evil, most definitely. Evil, ornery, scandalous and evil, most definitely.”

As I walked home on this dark and gloomy day, my thoughts returned to my encounter with Mr. St James. I remember him looking at me, his eyes crinkling as he tried to hold in a laugh.

I got up, shoving him out of my way as I speed walked to the toilets. After staying there till 3, I snuck out and made my way home.

On arrival, I made my way into the house quietly. My parents were home. I walked into my room and closed my door quietly and got changed and scrolled through my phone. After a few hours I made my way downstairs to cut some mango.

" Who's she?" The annoyingly high pitched voice of whoever rang throughout the kitchen.

I stayed quiet, too tired to even form an intelligible response.

" My daughter."

" Why's she here?" The b***h whined.

Just shut up.

" She lives here, speaking of which, kid I got a call that you bunked, what's up with that?"

I ignored him. He was only acting as if he cared in order to impress his f**k buddy.

" I'm talking to you," he said raising his voice slightly.

" I wanted to."

" I don't care if you want to, you go to your lessons."

" Why don't you mind your business the way I mind mine. If I don’t wanna go to a lesson what does it have to do with you? You’re not losing anything, are you?"

I walked away from him and back upstairs.

I put on a pair of jeans and a hoodie and grabbed my bag and some cash. I wasn't staying here. I hopped out of the window, all the while my father was yelling at me, and walked to the bus stop. I waited for the bus that took me into town.

When it arrived, I got on it. Soon after I received a text from my father, telling me that we had to have dinner with some important people that he wanted me to meet tomorrow. I rolled my eyes and stuffed my phone in my pocket.

Once I got off the bus, I made my way around the shopping district. I went in and out of shops looking around for something to buy, in the end coming up empty handed.

I got a text.

From: Anonymous. Great.

It read: Bored Anaïs? Go down to Bishop's Street and head straight into the club.

I shook my head. No f*****g way. He, they…They'll be waiting for me. And I would be walking straight into their trap. It wasn’t happening.

I looked away from my phone and to my surroundings. Nothing but groupies and drunkards. I couldn’t do anything there.

I found my feet moving along with a mind of their own, dragging me down to Bishops Street despite my mind's apparent disapproval. I'll be smart about it, is what I told myself. I knew I wouldn't.

In the time that I was arguing with myself, I'd managed to make it to the booming club. It was in your face. You couldn't miss it. I took a deep breath and queued up, waiting to be let in. Of course the bouncers let me in, completely unaware of my actual age, and ushered me inside.

Lights. I was blinded for a few seconds. Unable to see anything or anyone. I panicked. There's a maniac on the loose and here I was, practically blind. I looked at the ground and allowed my eyes to adjust themselves. After a while, I was finally able to see again. And with that, I made my way over to the bar.

As I took a seat and hailed the bartender down. I felt a nerve wracking feeling encompass me. Intense was the only real word to describe it. It came surging in waves of increasing intensity. Magnifying the scale of worry that I had originally been dealing with.

While I lost myself in my thoughts, I was interrupted by the bartender.

" What can I get ya, miss?"

" You have coke?"

He lifted his eyebrows. Only then did I realise what I'd said.

" Not diet, just the regular Coca Cola," I tried to play it off as an innocent mistake. He bought it and poured me the coke into a glass.

I wasn't really paying too much attention if I'm honest. I was more focused on getting rid of this damned feeling that pumped in my veins. A minute later, the glass was in front of me. After I paid him I drank the entire contents of the glass in a total of 3 large, and slightly painful, gulps. I shook my head and sat in the stool for a while.

A while quickly turned into three quarters of an hour and seeing as I was fatigued, I decided to quickly go to the toilet before leaving the club.

As I made my way to the toilets, my head began spinning endlessly. I grabbed the walls for stability just as my vision began to blur. I felt hot. Boiling. I couldn't breathe. My throat was sore. My head was pounding relentlessly. I closed be my eyes for just a little bit of comfort. That's when I began slipping. I felt myself slipping out of consciousness. Out of this world into the deep dark abyss of nothingness.

Just as I began to fade my ears tricked me into believing that I was being talked to.

" I've got you, Anaïs," is what he said.

...

I woke up feeling drained. My limbs were aching and my eyes felt as if they had been glued shut. I was wet. Freezing and wet.

Then it hit me.

I breathed in.

And it was putrid. Immediately I wanted to throw up. The smell was everywhere. I couldn't escape it. It was everywhere.

I forced my eyes open and realised I was facing the ground. I mustered what little strength that was left in me and used my arms to push me into a seated position. The floor was red.

Blood red.

Deep. Dark. Red.

I brought my hands up and it was all over my palms. There were some large dark blobs within the liquid and I realised they were clots. For a minute, just for a minute, I'd forgotten about the smell.

But who could forget that?

I felt myself hurling and looked around the unfamiliar room, trying to find the source. And right next to me it was.

I lay next to that.

For hours.

In its blood.

A body.

I grabbed it by the shoulder and turned it to face me. And staring back at me. Was the decomposing body...

Of Katrina O'Hara.

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