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Fresh Avocado

'Blood Rose' - Josie Stephens (Year 9)

Chapter One. The Murderer.


Tap, tap, tap. The footsteps of the murderer grew louder and louder as I was shaking in my closet. Beads of sweat dripped down my forehead, my hands were shaking rapidly. A crack of light was showing my forest green eyes, my long dark rust-colored hair covering the rest of my sweaty face. My breath coming in pants. I could hear him nearing towards me. I stopped breathing when I saw his burnt, scarred face. His platinum blond hair was covering his eyes. His eyes were white. He’s blind. His brown leather boots were splattered in blood. His hands were gripping his knife so hard his knuckles turned white. His knife was slick in scarlet blood. I gasped as he shone the blade in the light. That was the same knife he had stabbed me with all those years ago.


I slapped my hands over my mouth as he looked over to me. “Frig,” I whispered as he made his way over to me. I grabbed the baseball bat I hid with me before. I clutched the bat in my trembling hands.

He opened the creaking closet door. He pointed the knife dangerously close to my face, dripping blood from the knife onto my knee. A tear slid down my cheek. Complete silence as he squinted his white, cloudy eyes at my face. His knife slid on my knee, cutting a deep wound in my knee. I could only cry silently and cover my hands over my mouth. He left and slammed the closet door. Walking away, I could hear his feet walk away. I sighed in relief that he was gone. I opened the closet door and limped out into my basement surroundings now splattered with blood. I fell down, forgetting the deep wound in my knee. I clutched my knee with both my hands, coating them in blood. If only a miracle

were to occur. I would be out of this nightmare. This hell hole I called my home was unbearable. My hair had grown to my knees over the summer. When it all started. Summer of 2028. We are on the bridge of global warming. Edge of death. You didn’t know if the sun would go out each minute. Animals were slaughtered one by one. Pigs had a population of about 55. Cows were extinct and sheep were on the brink of extinction. and here I was hiding in my basement. From him. They call him: The Blood Rose. He is greatly feared among the people that are left in my town. Each Monday night he comes to my house to try and murder me.


But I am prepared. I have my rations and my weapons. He couldn’t even lay a finger on me. Or so I thought. Long ago in 2020, when the world wasn’t corrupt, he came to my house. He had that same knife. He murdered my family. He stabbed me in my side, whispered in my ear “don’t forget this. Remember my name. The Blood Rose.” I stabbed him with two kitchen knives. One in each eye. Blinding him. I didn’t realize my mistake until he got two blades out of his jacket and threw them blindly at me. I dodged them. Barely missing them. I gasped at the pain in my side. It was unbearable. The last thing I remember was him with a rose, placing it on my side, making it bloody. I saw him walk away. Then everything turned black.



Chapter Two. The Hospital


I woke up at my local hospital, my side wrapped in bloody bandages, almost soaked. I grimaced in pain, then pressed the ‘call nurse’ button. A short nurse came into the room hurriedly. Her smile was pained. You could tell. Her long, grey hair was pulled up into a bun messily. She had wrinkles in the corner of her eyes, you could tell she was kind.

“Ma’am?” “Ma’am is anything wrong?” I snapped out of my thoughts. Her piercing blue eyes were squinting at me.

“Oh, uh my side hurts a lot…” her thin lips made a forced smile.

“That is understandable Ma’am, you were stabbed a week ago.” her voice had an edge as if the subject were touchy.

“A WEEK ago?!?!” I shrieked. The nurse’s face scrunched up in a form of disgust.

“Ma’am may I remind you this is a hospital.” My mouth formed an o shape. “I am so sorry. But, was I really stabbed a WEEK ago?!??!” The nurse sighed.

“Yes, ma’am you were stabbed a week ago.” My eyes widened drastically, my eyebrows felt like they just left my face.

I leaped out of the hospital bed, racing out of the room. Ignoring the hollering nurse. I rushed to the elevator, pressing the ground floor buttons repeatedly, I thought I was going to break it at the speed my fingers were pressing it. I had to go home! It was almost dark, if I wasn't at my house then he would come to the hospital, find me and kill everyone around me. Including me. Oh god. Oh god. It was already 8:00. He would come at 9:00. I had to hurry. I rushed out of the hospital elevator, pushing past people. I had to hide. I sped out of the hospital, everyone outside already had their blinds shut, windows locked, doors secured. He always found a way to get through the windows… THE WINDOWS!!! I forgot to lock them after he climbed through three days ago…


Chapter Three. The Red Room


I saw a glimpse of my neighbor Paul. “Did you see a ghost or somethin’?” he drawled in his Texan accent. I felt my face pale. No one dare speak his name in my town. It was forbidden.

“Y-yeah something like that I guess.” I stuttered. Paul had a calm face.

“You tell me when those creepers come back, I’ve been meaning to call those, what’re their names again?” I chuckled.

“You mean the Ghostbusters?” Paul nodded his head vigorously. I whistled a song, put my hands in my pockets and sprinted away.

I went into my house and slammed the door. I locked my door and windows. My heart raced, my palms were sweating. Was he going to come back? Where was he? I remember the escape route Paul and I had made. Where was that baseball bat? It was in the basement. Of course. The red room. I trudged upstairs, making sure to keep my steps quiet. I sighed in relief when I noticed no one was there. I grabbed the spiked, rusty baseball bat that was in the closet.

I rushed downstairs and got all my food, I put it in my bag and ran to Paul’s house, which wasn’t far might I add. I rapped my hand on Paul’s door. He opened it with a smile, that smile disappeared when I told him the situation was a code red. He ran into his house, got his emergency bag and ran out of the house with me. We got to the entrance of the dark tunnel that leads us out of town. I shivered in fear. The walk in the tunnel took about two hours. ‘Just enough time to get murdered!’ My sick mind thought. Paul looked at me to confirm I was ok to do this. I nodded at him. Here we go.


Chapter Four. The Dark Abyss.


It seemed like we were walking for hours, maybe even days. “I SEE IT!” I screamed. I had seen the exit of the abyss. Cheering too soon. I should’ve known. We weren’t getting away from the Blood Rose just yet. I gripped my baseball bat in front of me.


Chuckles echoed in the darkness. I saw a gleam of silver in the darkness. I started sprinting. Dragging Paul along. I knew he was here. “RUN!!!” I screeched. I could see my breath in front of me. I felt a sting in my back. I put my hand on my back and felt a sticky liquid. Blood. Fresh. Great. Just. Great. My knees collapsed. The pain was too much to bear. It was too much.


“Help,” I whispered into the dark tunnel. “Please. Help.” Pitch black was all I saw.

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