I

Halle stood in her front yard beside the trash cans waiting with a full bag in her hand. Having been home alone for a few weeks, she didn’t actually have much in the way of trash, so instead filled the bag with an old sleeping bag from the attic. It didn’t matter, it was only a prop anyway.

She’d been stood there for almost an hour and still no sign of Ravi. Had she missed him? She couldn’t have. He always took the trash out between 6 and 7PM on a Wednesday, and she’d been there since 5:45, there was no way she’d missed him.

It was the perfect excuse, Halle had it all planned out, she was dressed in her cutest pink sweats that made her look skinny. She’d even pinned her hair back in that way Ravi liked. Although, she’d made sure to change into her glasses, so it didn’t seem like she was trying too hard, plus her new contacts were irritating her eyes. Either way, it was a great plan.

Halle pushed her wire-framed glasses up her nose, checking the time on her watch – 6:43. This was getting ridiculous. Halle stomped her foot impatiently, leaning sideways in an attempt to see the Saffat’s front porch. Suddenly, the light came on illuminating their neat front yard, and Halle grabbed the lid of one of her cans poised ready to go.

The front door opened, but whoever had come out was taking a painfully long time about it. They were shuffling around inside putting on their shoes. Halle rolled her eyes. A shadow appeared and Halle got ready to jump into action, only for Nina to walk down the stairs holding the family’s trash.

Panicked, Halle ducked down, slamming her elbow into the cans, “Crap!”

Halle held her elbow in pain, clamping her hand over her mouth to quiet herself. Nina stopped and cautiously looked around her, Halle tried to remain still in hopes that she wouldn’t be visible in the darkness.

This wasn’t enough to fool Nina, “Halle, is that you?”

Nina approached their shared fence and looked over, Halle tried to remain still only to glance up and see Nina smiling down at her. With her hiding place exposed, Halle pushed herself to her feet and dusted off, while trying to force a smile onto her face.

“Hey, what’s up?” Halle’s face was stinging with embarrassment and she hoped she wasn’t too red.

Nina cocked her head wearing a wry expression, “What’re you doing down there?”

“Me?” Halle tried to cross her arms but ended up pressing on the tender part of her elbow causing her to wince, “I was… I was looking for my contact lens”.

Reflexively, Halle pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose and grimaced. The lie hung in the air for a moment as Nina studied her with a raised brow.

“Did you find it?” She said, ever gracious.

Halle shouldn’t have been expecting anything less really, Nina had been keeping their secret for the last three years. Halle rubbed the back of her head and gave an awkward laugh. Then frowned, noticing the black bag in Nina’s small hands.

“Hey, isn't that usually Ravi's job?”

“Oh, this?” Nina raised the bag and rolled her eyes, “Meant to be, but as usual he got out of it”.

A lump in her throat made Halle’s voice sound tight, “Oh yeah, how did he manage that?”

“Oh, through the higher calling that is Fuss ball of the USA”, Nina looked exhausted by this, “The team had a late practice so the coach took them out for Pizza. He'll probably roll in around eleven like he normally does”.

“Oh, right. Fancy that…” Halle felt the sing of tears in her eyes and stared at the ground. How humiliating to be caught red-handed by Ravi’s sister. Nina dropped their trash into the can, giving Halle a pitying expression.

She seemed like she wanted to say something but kept hesitating, “Hey, If you ever want to talk–”

Halle gave her a startled look, “What?”

“I know my brother can be kind of an asshole sometimes but…” Halle’s face must have looked mortified as Nina began stumbling her over words, suddenly eager to get away, “You know what, never mind. I’ve got some calculus homework that’s kicking my butt”.

Nina began backing away, shooting Halle awkward finger guns, as she trotted up their porch stairs and disappeared into the house. The door slammed and the porch light went off, leaving Halle alone in the near darkness. Her cheeks stung with hot embarrassment as she stood there trying desperately not to cry.

Halle took several deep breaths before she turned to walk back to her house, when he attention was drawn by the sound of heavy footsteps coming towards her. She whipped around just as a girl flew out from the darkness and slammed directly into the trashcans, sending them flying, as she herself spilled onto the floor in what looked like a painful fall.

Halle rushed over, “Are you okay?” only to realize it was Norah lying on the ground, her eyes were wild, unable to focus properly in any direction, “Whoa, Norah, is that you?”

Norah’s eyes snapped in Halle’s direction, fierce and alarmed, as she hopped to her feet and limped away at great speed. She was clutching her arm like it was injured, but disappeared into the darkness without a word.

“Norah!” called Halle, questioning whether she should follow after her, “Norah!”

Before she knew it, Norah had vanished into the night, and Halle hovered uncertain of what she should do. She didn’t know what Norah had been doing, but the fact her face and chest were absolutely covered in blood couldn’t have been a good sign. Leaving her trash bag on the street, Halle sprinted into her house to get her cellphone to call Josh.

She had to call him several times before she got an answer and Josh sounded weird when he did.

“Hey, can I call you back?”

“Wait!”

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There seemed to be a lot of commotion on Josh’s side of the line, anxious voices and a lot of banging.

“I just – that new girl – do you know where she lives?” said Halle.

Josh’s voice sounded tight, he was talking in a low tone like he didn’t want to be overheard, “Why do wanna know about her?”

“She just ripped through here looking like she went three rounds with a wrecking-ball, so I thought I might check in on her–”

“No, don’t!”

Halle had never heard Josh sound so adamant, “What, why?”

“Just trust me. You need to stay far, far away from her.”

“Hey, kid! Are you coming?”Someone in the background shouted,

“Yeah, I'll be right there”, Josh was talking to someone other than Halle. There was so much banging around Josh, Halle could barely hear him.

“What the hell is going on there, you sound like you’re in a war zone?”

Josh sighed, he sounded uncharacteristically aggravated, “I’m on my way to the hospital, can I call you when I get there?”

Hospital? Halle felt a bolt of terror chill her, “Why are you going to the hospital?”

“I haven’t got time to explain, but if you see Norah again, stay the hell away from her. She’s dangerous.”

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II

Norah’s arm and shoulder were searing when she finally found her way out of the woods. Despite drunkenly thrashing around in the darkness, her feet had somehow carried her all the way back to her neighborhood. As she emerged from the safety of the trees, she realized it was more than that. There was something pulling her there like a homing beacon.

She waited on the edge of the tree-line for a long while, terrified to step under the street lights where someone could see her. She looked beaten up enough that anyone seeing the carnage covering her face and body would probably assume it was hers, but that alone would draw questions she had no desire to answer.

Without her phone, Norah didn’t know what time it was, however, from the stillness of her neighbors homes and lack of people on the street, it had to be reasonably late. She’d never experienced a longer night, it was one she feared would never end. Like she’d slipped into some purgatory of torment as punishment for her actions. Not like she didn’t deserve it.

Gaining her courage, Norah finally dared to emerge from the trees and was immediately hit by a chilly wind, making her feel exposed and vulnerable as she limped through the dimly lit streets as quietly as she could. Every step sent sparks of pain through her shoulder and down her arm as she cradled it against her body.

No matter how far she walked, it felt like her cul-de-sac wasn’t getting any closer. She was exhausted and would give anything to lay down and sleep. Unfortunately, hearing a car coming around a bend, Norah ducked down behind a beamer, curling up as small as she could until the headlights disappeared again.

Beneath the car a pair of bright yellow eyes locked onto Norah and she fell back in fright, until moments later a black cat emerged from the darkness and shot off into the night. Norah lay on the ground clutching her arm and trying to fight back tears. She’d been so convinced that leaving her life in New York behind was her rock bottom – she’d been an idiot.

Norah clenched her eyes shut, only to be greeted with the image of Paul’s blood-soaked face and terrified eyes, and she bolted upright in a panic. She hated to see those stars looking down at her from above, taunting her with their pure white brilliance. Sat there on the cold asphalt she felt ready to die, anything was better than this misery.

Smoke began to pollute the edges of her eyes and Norah forced herself up to her feet and started walking. She had to get home. Hide herself away from these innocent and unsuspecting people. Before she knew it Norah found herself on Bramford Close and ran as fast as she could to their house at the end.

It looked creepy compared to the other houses, with its lights off and the broken streetlight out front. With her mother’s car missing from the driveway, it looked like a regular haunted house. Norah felt equally relieved and terrified by her mother’s assumed absence.

Just as she had before, Norah crept around the back of the house and let herself into through the kitchen door using the spare key. She was hit with the now familiar smell of dust and bleach, although it had died down somewhat since she’d last been there. The house had a voided silence to it. An empty shell alone and lifeless. Norah could relate.

Despite knowing there was no one home, she closed the door as silently as she could, as if afraid any wrong move would awaken something evil in the darkness. She didn’t even dare to turn on a light. Not that there was much more evil than the thing standing in her filthy shoes.

Norah wrenched off her soaking low-top sneakers, completely unidentifiable from the white ones she’d left in, and put them in the corner by the door behind her mother’s walking boots to try to hide them. Her socks were brown and soaking wet, and when she stripped them off to throw them in the washer, her toes were bright red and blistered. She hadn’t even noticed them before but in the warmth of the house they felt like they’d been dipped in acid.

Standing on the cold linoleum, Norah stripped down to her underwear and shoved her soiled clothes into an older grocery bag before burying it at the bottom of their kitchen trash, which thanks to garbage day was almost empty. She was sorry to part with her favorite sweater, but even without the blood it was unsalvageable.

Her arm was completely numb now, hanging by the side of her body like a dead weight, sending the occasional spark of pain into her shoulder. She gently ran her fingers across her collar bone and around the back of her shoulder, feeling lumps and dents where they shouldn’t be, and coming to the conclusion that it was dislocated.

There wasn’t an option to go to the hospital, she had no choice but to pop it back in herself. Grabbing a fresh dishtowel she shoved it into her mouth and bit down to help with the pain. Then with a deep breath, she firmly grasped her wrist, and with one hard tug wrenched it forward. There was a blinding pain followed by a loud crack, but afterwards she felt better.

Norah forced herself to roll her arm around its socket to check that it was actually fixed. She was able to move, albeit stiffly and with a persistent dull ache, but it was good enough. The blood on her hands way completely dry and had turned a dark brown, caking into the fine lines, under her fingernails, and buried into her cuticles.

There was a tideline where her sweater had protected her wrists, making it look like she’d dipped her hands in indelible red ocher. It turned Norah stomach. She tried to rub it away but it wasn’t going anywhere. She rushed up the stairs, tripping as she went and leaving a few smudges on the gray carpet, but they would have to wait.

She locked the bathroom door and let the hot tap ran, sitting on the edge of the bath. Catching her silhouette in the mirror, Norah finally dared to turn the lights on, and what she saw was so much worse that she had imagined. Her face looked starkly pale under a mane of matted black hair, scarlet covered her all the way from her eyes to the top of her stomach.

Her white bra was drenched in it, with only the straps and back still clear from blood. She was covered in cuts and scratches, and not one inch of her back wasn’t filthy. There was trigs, leaves and other bits of plants and bugs knotted into her hair. She looked like she’d dug herself out of a grave.

When the room started to fill with steam, Norah stripped off the last of her clothes, which stuck to her, and threw them into the laundry before she stepped into the bathtub. She stayed back from the shower stream, knowing full well the water would be scolding, before forcing herself under it.

It felt like burning daggers raining down on her, but she remained underneath, her arms pressed against the front wall and her body rigid, watching the putrid red stains swirl away down the drain. She clenched her eyes shut in an attempt to withstand the pain, but she kept seeing flashes of Paul’s face, then Susan’s like they morphing into one entity of betrayal and agony.

Norah turned up the hot tap, grunting as scolding water poured over her body, causing her skin to erupt in angry red blisters, but she didn’t care. She deserved worse. Using soap she rubbed at her skin, blisters bursting under her rough touch, causing her to scream in agony until she was sobbing, but she had to get clean.

She could feel the smoke returning, becoming giddy as her entire body went numb, and she began hovering off the ground. To regain control, Norah slammed her fist into the tiles, smashing them and sending a shock of pain through her hand.

She fell to her knees and remained there weeping as boiling water poured over her.