This is a static copy of In the Rose Garden, which existed as the center of the western Utena fandom for years. Enjoy. :)

#1 | Back to Top01-07-2007 06:04:05 PM

Suyo
Tenjou Tilter
From: Washington
Registered: 10-23-2006
Posts: 82

Short Story

I wrote this as a homework assignment...for a friend.. I may or may not continue it, depending on if part two of the project is continuation.. anywho, please comment! n_n

A silver pocket watch dropped from her palm, spinning on the ground when finally it stopped. A moment later, the blond girl followed, dead. A man, hiding his face in the shadow of his wide-brimmed hat, wearing a beige jump coat walked into the raining, light deprived street.

    Kimberly woke to the loud ringing of her telephone. She fumbled for the receiver. Picking it up, she fell from her bed into the sea of books as she greeted the caller, waving her waist-length, dark brown hair from her face. “Hello?” She said, her voice giving away her sleepiness.
    “Yes,” a man replied, sounding anxious. “Is Ms. Kimberly White at home?” he asked. Kimberly perked up. She had been waiting all week for the reply on her job application.
    “This is she! How may I help you?” she waited eagerly. The man quickly replied.   
    “This line’s not bugged is it?” his voice seemed far from the phone as he spoke to someone close to him. “Right. Kimberly, Kim, if I may. There’s been a rather harsh series of murders in your neighborhood. I’d like you to come in. This needs someone like you.” Kim’s eagerness ran from her. She lied back on her bed, shutting her eyes and groaning.
    “Yeah, I’ll come. See you…” she hung up.  With a great yawn, she stretched her arms. She stood and looked at her tomboyish attire, baggy jeans and a white T-shirt, and dusted them off. As she headed for the door, she put her shoes on and covered herself with a heavy burgundy cloak. Opening the door, the strong winds of the city rushed in, blasting her with cool encouragement. Smiling, she stepped out of the building but quickly went back in, equipping herself with a briefcase. “Right!” she said, holding up a fist. “Today will be great no matter what!” She hummed to herself as she walked down the busy street, wheeling her briefcase behind her.

    The elevator door opened and Kim stepped into the vast room. Surrounding her where hundreds of bookcases, which stood seemingly miles above her head, piled with all sorts of books. People busied themselves with paperwork and restocking countless novels. Kimberly walked passed them unnoticed. No one looked from his or her desk; no one even gave her a second glance. Mostly because of her bed-head and ratty cloak, she never had any care for personal appearance. She took a left turn, narrowly missing a run-away cart from which loose papers flew. She looked at the stray paper with a stern glare. Each of the papers stiffened and piled onto each other and landed quietly on the ground in a neat stack. She gave herself a small, triumphant smirk.
    Continuing down the hall, she came to a large double-door made of dark oak. She tugged on her briefcase, making it stand at her side. Taking a deep, despair-filled breath, she knocked on the door. Slowly, the two doors gave way and she walked through into a much smaller room than the door would make you think. Like the large entryway, this room too was lined with books. At the far end was a desk with a large, golden-covered book opened. Behind that, reading the book was an old man with dark skin and small, wire-frame glasses.
    “Kimberly” he spoke. His voice was dry, as if he lived a life deprived of water. He gave a small cough and straightened up, placing a gold-tasseled bookmark in the book as he closed it. “It’s been a long while, Kimberly. Please, have a seat” he coughed again as he gestured towards a high-backed leather chair in front of the desk. Kimberly took the seat, smiling at the old man. “I see you still behave like a child. Forgetting to comb your hair before leaving the house? How un-lady like.” He laughed shortly. Kim ran her fingers quickly through her hair, trying to smooth it out. After several attempts, she blushed at her failure.
    “I did not ask you here to comment on your personal mind-set, child. I’m sure you know what’s happened around your home?” he asked. Kim nodded. “All the victims have had a series of puncture wounds which lead all the way through, leaving small holes in the body.” He rummaged in a drawer and threw four pictures onto the desk. Each of them showing a female’s body. The holes in their clothes, which she assumed were the puncture wounds, looked to be the size of a dime. She winced.  He swiveled his chair slightly to the right and laid a long, withering finger on a small red button, making it click. “We have evidence that lead us to believe this man is somehow responsible” A projector graced the wall with a photo of a tall, blond man in a navy blue business suit. In his left hand, he held a brown cane with a silver dragon’s head adorning the top. On his ring finger was a silver band with three rubies forming a triangle and an emerald in the center. His eyes, framed by his long, messy hair, gave a cold, distant glare.
    “He looks scary,” she said. Her head lowered. She really wished it were her job offer coming through on the phone that morning. “So,” she turned to him. “What am I supposed to do?” she asked.
    “With your gift, I believe you’re the only one who could survive an attack such as this.”    
    “But how am I suppose to make him go after me?” she was curious, and frightened. Though she had risked her life before, she never liked doing it. In fact, thinking on it now, she couldn’t remember why she answered to their call. Oh well, she’d try and think that over later.
    “All the victims have this ring in common” he pressed the red button again. The image changed to that of one of the girls’ photos. He pressed a blue button just beside the red, zooming in on the victim’s hand. On her ring finger was the same band the man was wearing. Kim turned her head, but before she asked her question, the old man tossed her a ring exactly like the one in the photos. He once again pressed the red button. This time, it was a small map of the city surrounding Kim’s home. Taking a deep breath, he pressed the green button placed below the red. Two red circles appeared on the map. One of them was a ten-minute walk from home. The other was forty-five. Pressing the green again, the circle closest to home disappeared. Kim knew what was coming. “The assailant has been attacking these two areas back and forth. Last night’s victim was near your home so we suspect he’ll continue his pattern and attack here tomorrow night.” The map zoomed in on the circled area.
    “Right” Kim said, pocketing the ring. She stood up and faced the old man. “Um, what am I supposed to do, exactly?” she scratched her cheek and gave an embarrassed laugh.
    “For the most part, survive. We’d like for you to tell us what the killer looks like and if possible what he’s using to inflict these wounds.” There was a momentary pause, Kimberly’s smile faded into a blank expression, but her eyes were burning for a good fight. “You are allowed to kill, but only if necessary. Though it may mean losing more innocent lives, he’s our only lead to that man.” Kim turned to leave when the man continued on. “There was one more thing. It was found near the latest victim.” Kim heard him toss it onto the desk with a hollow impact. A small metallic click and a quiet melody played. Kim’s eyed widened. She lost herself within the slow sound. Her mind was whirling her away into a white room, spattered with red. She felt her arms begin to shake. The watch closed with another click and the sound ceased, bringing her back to reality. “Though it’s probably of no use. Have a good day, Kimberly. And good luck” she left. Her eyes and heart were filled with sorrow, though she knew not why.

    At home, she lay out a pair of pants, a shirt, and a folded ribbon on her nightstand. She leaned her briefcase against it then began to pile the many books against the walls. She had four bookshelves but they were full, and because she spent her money on more books, she had never been able to buy another one. Though sometimes cluttered, she loved the feeling of being enthralled by literature every minute of every day. She cleared her bed of the many volumes and laid them on the floor. After making her bed, she continued fixing the books that lay open on the floor, replacing them onto their piles with no organization. An hour or two passed, and only her bedroom could be called ‘cleaned’. She sighed at the amount of work that was needed. Not that she needed to do it in the first place. No one ever came over. Her only real friend lived on the other side of the world. Anyhow, Kimberly continued her work, cleaning the hallway, then the entranceway, the living room, and then the kitchen.  When she finished, it was four in the morning and she was dead tired. Placing the last of the scattered books on top of the fridge, she gave a short cry of longing for her bed. She slunk to her room and collapsed onto her blue and green sheets. She grabbed a random book and began to read, but soon fell quickly into sleep.

    In the early evening, Kim woke herself with a loud snore. She turned her head to look at her clock. 5:16pm. Her eyes widened but then went half shut. She slowly made her way to the bathroom, showering quickly, and then returned to her room to dress. For her business outing, she wore dark blue jeans, which were two sized too big for her, but she made them cling to her waist with a silver belt. Above that, she wore a Royal blue half-shirt, exposing her mid-drift. She then tied her long hair into a ponytail with the flowing, sky-colored ribbon. She looked herself up and down. Though she was barely nineteen, she looked like a twenty-four-year-old trying to regain youth.
    “But this is the only outfit I have for a mission like this” she reasoned with herself. She waved her hand over the front of her hair, covering her forehead that she believed was too big. With one final grin at herself, she fitted her feet into black, cloth shoes and left the house, briefcase in tow.

    “8:30” Kim said, walking down the dim-lit street. She stopped walking, feeling like she’d been hit in the chest. “The ring” she told herself. Quickly, she dug through her front pockets, then the back, and finally the one on her right leg. Nothing. She slumped to the ground, sitting on her knees, hand on her briefcase. Opening her grief-heavy eyes, she noticed the ring reflecting light from the small pouch on the briefcase’s front. She let out a sigh of relief as she stood, putting the ring on. When it was around her finger quite snuggly, she heard something whisk in the wind. She quickly sidestepped as something left a shallow cut in her left shoulder. Turning around, she saw a man in a beige jump coat, face shadowed in the wide brim of his hat. He gave a deep laugh as Kim’s right shoulder received a cut, twin to the left. Wincing at the stinging sensation, she saw what the man used to attack. It was a small, very thin knife, like a needle but a little thicker. The man threw the knife with eyes set on her neck. Side-stepping again, she lifted her case to block the thing. It went straight through and back, leaving the one hole.
    “A worthy girl” the man said, his voice trailed into the emptiness of the street. He threw his weapon again, but more playfully. He left a small cut on Kim’s right cheek. Blood trickled from it. She wiped her face and struggled to control her body more. She was shaking from fear. Kim had never faced an opponent this fast.
    “Calm down, girl!” he yelled, anger was thick in his voice. “Just calm down and die! It won’t hurt.” At this, he let himself grin. “Much” he added, throwing the knife once more. She lifted her briefcase. The sharp weapon cut through the lock, but also nicked her side. The case fell open, spewing paper onto the street. Her eyes narrowed and focused on the man. She smirked. The paper stiffened. As each piece lifted from the ground, it folded and twisted itself into the shape of his knife and flung itself at him. Unsuspecting, most of the papers went through him, identical to his tactics. As Kimberly focused on aiming the papers, the man dodged the barrage with ease now and threw his knife once more. With a gasp, she saw the knife, aiming for her skull. Out of human nature, she raised her arm to shield her face from the inevitable end, but the remaining paper followed and shielded her from his attack. The knife retracted back into his possession. She lowered the paper and was face to face with him. He had gray skin. His eyes were black and his nose was flat. This man’s appearance sent chills down her spine. Kim suddenly felt a warm sensation in her abdomen, followed by stinging. She looked down and saw the man’s gray hands, with yellowing fingernails, pressing the knife into her. Her chest constricted from fear. She didn’t want to die like this, and not in fear, either. She gasped for air, letting high-pitched sobs escape as tears slowly rolled down her cheek. She put her right hand on his empty face and her left on his shoulder, and used all of her strength to force him away. Momentarily, he lost his balance, the knife being ripped from her flesh pained her, but at least she would live.
    Letting her guard down to tend to her wound left her open. The man regained his form and plunged the knife into her again. She was stunned. Her eyes evacuated their sight and sent her into the white room with red-spattered walls. The melody from yesterday played. The red began to melt, oozing outward. More and more of the white disappeared as the red overtook it. Soon, all she could see was red, but then the sound stopped. The red receded and the street returned to sight, as well as the man. She was lying on the cracked asphalt, blood seeping onto it. She strained to sit up. She placed a bloodied hand on a piece of paper, leaving her print. That single paper lifted into the air and flew at the man, slicing his left cheek. Blood dripped. He stood up straight and thrust his knife at her again.
    Blocked. The paper with a red hand on it caught the knife and wrapped itself around it. Tighter the paper went until the knife began to crush. The paper tilted and broke the knife. He threw it away and drew another with a wicked smile. Another piece of paper blocked its way. Kim raised her hand from the ground and the remaining papers followed. Quickly, they turned around the man, encircling him, creating a whirlwind. Kim stuck her hand out; blood was sucked into the whirlwind and soon, all the man could see was a flurry of red. Not only was it her blood that gave the paper speed, but also the paper tornado grew smaller, cutting deeper every time. The man collapsed backward, and Kim stood up.
    “A worthy girl, indeed” he said. He took one last deep breath and exhaled heavily as the life flowed from his body. Kimberly kneeled next to him and touched one last piece of paper. As it floated beside her, she manipulated it to fold into the shape of a carnation. She laid it on his chest and walked onto the walkway, sitting against a light post. “Death will not take me today…” she said weakly, floating off into slumber.

Last edited by Suyo (01-18-2007 05:41:37 PM)


May those who accept their fate be granted happiness. May those who defy it be granted Glory.

Offline

 

Board footer

Powered by PunBB 1.2.23
© Copyright 2002–2008 PunBB
Forum styled and maintained by Giovanna and Yasha
Return to Empty Movement