For I Am Soulless

The wind covered her screams. The rain washed her blood away. The sun brought hope and drove her demons away.

 

Dripdripdripdripdri-

Amanda smiled –dripdripdrip- she held a pale hand up to the sky, shedding water like tears against her dry, cracked skin. Her lips spread apart and widened in a smile, her teeth, yellow and sick, stuck out in her surroundings. She clenched her hand against the rain; her left hand ran up her side and along her own curves as she let out a howl against the wind. Rain fell in her hair and dripped down her, she closed her eyes and muttered,

“It falls like roses.” She smiled a little more, twirled as she reached down and grabbed the ends of her soaked white dress. Her voice, as she continued, was soft and sounded like that of a person in bliss, “And the petals are my slaves.” She yanked her hands up, letting go of her dress halfway up her tummy.

-dripdripdrip-

The rain came down harder, Amanda threw her head back and ran her hands up and down the front of her dress, sighing. She giggled like a child, kicked off her sneakers and tromped in the grass, mud and water and bugs spraying around her, staining her dress.

“It comes!” she laughed, “With the night, with the stars, my rebirth!” she giggled again, drew her hands in and pressed wet, slender fingers to her lips, “Sing me a song!” she screamed and the thunder rolled, crackling and lightning clawed the skies. Black shapes loomed in the distance, she laughed as they neared.

Seven figures in black capes stood in a circle around her, holding their hands out to her as if to ward Amanda away from them, to stay in the center of the circle. She smiled a wry little grin and hissed,

“Petals.” And held her arms out to them, as if to welcome an old friend.

Beneath their capes and hoods, the figures faces flashed in the lightning- wrinkled, ugly faces filled with their sins.

She turned to the figure directly behind her, “Superbia.” She giggled, spun to the next figure to the left of the first, “Luxuria,” the next, “Gula,” Again, “Avaritia,” another, “Acedia,” the next, “Ira,” and the last, “Invidia.” She spun again, faster, twirling and letting her arms swing around her; she laughed and screamed in the wind.

Slowly, Superbia began to chant, moving forward slowly, hands held out with claw like fingers contracting, wishing to feel. Luxuria started next, followed by the other five.

Amanda jumped, laughing, “Yes! Flowers, water, call!” she danced and bounced, her anticipation getting the best of her. Her white dress had turned limp and gray in the rain, her hair, first held by a clip, had fallen in black tangles around her.

The chant went on, “Ago, exsisto solvo!” Amanda twirled again, dress flying around her as the rain fell harder still.

“Yes! Live! Live!” as their claws traced circles and stars on her skin she drew her head back, caught a breath, and whispered to the sky, “They fall like roses in the rain….They are my petals. My bloody petals…”

She opened her lips again, grin dragging across her face as the dark haunting life left her eyes, and from her mouth came blood, spewing into the sky and trickling down like rain. It mixed on her skin, flowed in the air and crashed on the ground.

Suddenly the sky became clear, rain parted and thunder stopped in mid snap, the figures drew back into the shadows beneath the trees as a snarling voice asked,

“Infractus alius toy , liberi?” Amanda’s face was pale, distorted with bumps and grooves, spewed with red. Her eyes had turned coal black, and from her forehead where two burning patches of skin, cracked and black. “A new toy then.” It hissed, and her mouth drew back one final time for a thick green snake, coated in blood, to slither into the grass to find their new toy.

Moments later the skies had been returned to a deep, vibrant blue. The sun shined down, water droplets becoming crystals against the lush green grass and the blood on Amanda’s skin shining.

Later, mere hours later at 6:08, as the sun started to set through the gray clouds that had returned, the light reflected into Amanda’s eyes, which had become their soft, usual green. A single streak of fading sunlight splayed against her pale skin, turning it golden, warming it. The warmth and color spread, her eyes had light again, and this time, the rain that came was gentle. Her blood washed away, running in tiny streamlets down her cheeks.

The wind blew and whispered these words, “You aren’t forsaken.”

Amanda started to breathe again.

 

Author's Note

^^ Good versus Evil, God versus Satan- all topics I love to think about. I've always been very happy about this piece, I wrote this maybe six months before I wrote "Slither", my first real attempt to just try and be a LITTLE gory, if not disturbing. XD Oh yeah, and that language she's speaking is Latin. :)

Reviews

[Voice11]

Awesome piece. It was a little confusing until the very end when u explained it. Good job.

[Jen]

Interesting piece. I was a bit confused after reading your notes. My initial impression was that of a twist on a druidic ritual, or a witches ritual. I liked the visuals in this piece very much. Thanks for sharing.

[Tallulah]

I like this. It was interesting to read. it did confuse me a little though and i have no idea why. But i still like Amanda. You characterized her very well.

[HoWiE]

Hey there, thanks very much for entering my Religious Horror contest, I thought this was an interesting piece, a little confusing but interesting all the same. Good luck!