Secrets

The modern warrior is no longer accepted.

 

 

 

 

            The chill of the wind ran quickly down the deserted avenues of buildings. The great, black clouds with silver lining from the hidden moon drifted across the blemished sky. A single orange leaf skipped across the black asphalt street, coming to a sudden halt when stepped upon by a lone figure.

                She hurried down the dark street, the shadows engulfing her and making her virtually invisible. Her steps were silent, like phantom echoes in the clouds.

                She quickened her steps through the breathing wind, and left behind her a slight trail of dark red blood. A slight dripping sound disturbed the peace, and she hastily wrapped her cloak tighter around the open wound. She must not be followed.

                Down and around the twisting maze of streets, she traveled, cutting across yards and ravines, even sometimes doubling back and around. The more complex the trail, the harder to track, and at this point, failing was not an option. It was truly live or die; kill or be killed; and personally, she would rather the first of both.

                After long minutes had passed, and the clouds had passed revealing the moon, she soon came to an old, stone manor. From within the shadows, she scanned the surrounding streets. A streetlight flickered, but buzzed softly. Slowly and cautiously, she snuck in the great wooden door.

                Inside, she was met with a rush of heat and light, blinding and scorching her like stepping from an Arctic night into a Caribbean day. She turned and slammed the light switch down and rushed down the hall to the thermostat, which was soon off. It was more comforting this way.

                She slipped up the great stone staircase, not making a noise as she entered her bedroom. The silver luminescence of the moon flooded in through the giant window. The curtains billowed faintly from the ice-cold wind. Large, oak furniture crowded the suite, all draped in dark red tapestries. Through the pale glow, she hurried to the bathroom, careful not to drop blood onto anything.

                Retrieving a rag from a cabinet, she wet it in hot water and applied pressure to the gaping wound in her stomach. Removing her cloak with the other hand, she revealed black leather clothing, quite battered and with many cuts in it. On her exposed skin were various scars and healing scabs, some deep and ragged looking, others clean and smooth. And on her belt hung a long, thin katana within its scabbard.

                After a time, she removed the bright red cloth. The wound had stopped bleeding. She bandaged it up, along with the other minor scrapes. She cleaned what little had fallen onto the floor, and soon took hold of the katana. She drew it out with a long ringing sound, and brought it to her eyelevel. Blood encrusted it, all along the blade, and she hastily wiped it away. It was His blood. She had not killed him this night, but soon she would succeed.

                She ambled back into the bedroom, placing the clean katana on a shelf with the rest of her deadly blades. The moonlight fell across them, enhancing their look and making them sparkle. These were one of the few precious things in her life.

                On the bedside table lay her cell phone, portraying ten messages, all from the same person. “Where are you? Where are you?” It echoed through her ears as she erased the accusing questions. Her friends need not know of her affairs. They were her burden and hers alone.

                Slowly, she shifted across the floor to the windows. Opening one, she walked out onto the balcony. She rested on one of the railings, crouched over the edge above the black ground below. Looking up at the moon, a single tear slipped down her cheek. So many secrets…

 

Author's Note

I apologize for the spelling mistakes. If anyone has a suggestion, what genre would this be?

Reviews

[Aria]

I like this one. Partly because it has similarities to Providence which helps me relate but also because it is visually enticing. I saw everything as I read your words and that is exactly what we're supposed to do as writers. And, we're supposed to make people connect and feel for the characters in our stories and by the end of this one, I was just as sad and distraught as your character is. Good job. I would say the genre to be fantasy or mystery, depending on if there is more to this story (Which I hope there is :) ) However, try not to use the same words to describe something. For example, when you say the following:

After long minutes had passed, and the clouds had passed revealing the moon, she soon came to an old, stone manor.

Instead of saying 'the clouds passed' you could say 'the clouds parted'. The same message goes through without the awkward repetion. Or instead of saying 'long minutes had passed' you could say 'long minutes had ticked away OR had trailed.

It helps the flow of the words a lot. Just a suggestion though. :) All in all good work

[emmajoy]

Genre could be fantasy-gothic, maybe mystery.. it's certainly different..

Your story flows so well..

May i make one suggestion.. instead of using words like 'retrieving' or 'enhancing', use words you'd be more likely to use in every day speech.. (maybe you do use them, in which case, apologies! )

This is a great story, has some suspense, definitely a different theme from normal.

Thanks lots for sharing

[Bluerealis]

Suspense or adventure maybe?

Interesting story. The imagry was magnificent...it was very dark, as usual :P There are a few similies that are kind of choppy, for example, "like phantom echoes in the clouds." I dunno, it didn't really sing for me personally. But other than that, Alex, awesome! Keep writing your short stories.