Rose Ch1 pg2

    The wind was piercing, piercing and cold, but it quailed before the look that came from the pair of emerald green eyes. Her deadly glare was directed at a brown stone building, unblinking and still. Hair, long and wavy, was being whipped around her stony face. Fingers attached to a puffy winter sleeve slowly stroked an object that was hidden in its depths.

                Jake looked on at her exasperated. She was in one of those moods where he couldn’t tell what was going on in her head, but it didn’t take much to know it was murderous.

                “Accept it Jake, it’s going to happen whether you like it or not.” Sarai told him mildly, inspecting the purple nails on her out-stretched hand.

                “I know,” he sighed. “I’m just thinking about all that clean up afterward.”

    Rose finally lifted her head up from its brooding glaring contest. Her mouth pulled up from its cozy spot huddled in the depths of a knit scarf to form a grim smile.

    Silently, she started towards the pair of glass doors, Sarai nonchalantly following close behind. Shaking his head in bemusement, Jake walked after them. The doors to the high school, normally electronically locked, opened beneath Rose’s fingers after giving it a slight jolt with her magic.

    Rose strode in, acting not at all like an intruder who had never set foot in the school before. Her companions never questioned the path she took as she led them through the winding hallways, past the rows of doors and pale green lockers. Students and teachers walked past them, not giving even so much as a casual passing glance.

     After five minutes of quick walking, they came to a halt in front of a classroom door. Rose took out one hand, keeping the other in her pocket, and opened the door. Puzzled faces stared at them from art tables as everyone tried to get a glance. While Rose scanned the room, Jake looked about taking in the white concrete walls, the high tables with the students surrounding them on stools. Some kids had paper and pencils before them while others had clay. All of them were each wearing a confused expression on their face as they stared at the new comers.

     Who are they? They asked each other. Why are they wearing their coats? I don’t know. The others replied with a shrug equally as curious. They teacher stood up, asking “Can I help you?” in a brisk voice, betraying her fear and confusion. They gave her no answer, for as soon as Jake saw that smile creep up on Rose’s face, he knew that she’d found it, the Shell. It was not a pleasant smile. That smile had instilled fear in the hearts and minds of millions that it came across and it was a hard to get Rose to be that angry or disgusted with a person.

It didn’t take long for them to figure out which one was the Shell. She was the only one who was wearing a look of pure, unadulterated terror. Jake figured that the girl knew what was coming, that this moment had haunted her dreams ever since she was little. Her friends looked at her in worry, asking what was wrong but she ignored them speechlessly, staring at her nightmare come true.

     Silently and swiftly, Rose pulled her other hand out from her pocket. Everyone screamed and ducked as the gun swung into view, the barrel pointed right at the Shell. Jake watched as the girl scrunched up her eyes as if preparing for pain; Rose, without hesitation, pulled the trigger. The silencer halted most of the noise but even that little pop caused people to shriek with terror and cover their ears as if that would protect them.

     Rose’s grin grew even bigger. “God, I’ve wanted to do that for so long.” She put the gun away in her pocket and strode into the classroom with Jake and Sarai following along. People cringed out of her way as she made her way to the smoking shell. People started to get out of their terror as they realized their fellow classmate was bleeding sparks instead of blood and smoke was winding its way out of the hole in her head.

    Rose stared down in grim satisfaction. The Shell had fallen backwards out of its chair, bumping its head against the table behind it. It lay in an awkward position of being pushed up against the back table while the chair it’d been sitting on pushed her up, her legs were partially still on it. The most remarkable thing about it was that inside that hole; organic gears and machines were mixed in a complex mixture with human brain.

“How pathetic,” Rose murmured, pushing its head with her black, booted toe. “Come one. I got front, Jake, you can carry her legs. Sarai, you have the door.”

     Having to bend awkwardly, she picked it up right under the shoulder-blades, not emitting so much as a grunt of protest against its weight. Jake did as he was told, picking the shell up from under its knees, and together they lifted it up. Sarai stared disgustedly at it before she quickly walked to get the door for them. Before shutting it after they left, she poked her head in one last time to say, “So sorry for the mess everyone, I do apologize for her. I do assure you, we’ll make it up to you. Ok now, bye! Stay in school and don’t do drugs. Too-da-loo!” She waved with her fingers and closed the door on their remarkably shocked faces.