Bloody Red Roses

Copyright © 2011 Molly Elizabeth Arnell

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I should have seen the rose. I had been keeping my eye out for them for months so that I could be prepared, but for some reason my eyes just skimmed past it. Not that I could have stopped what happened if I did see the rose. It symbolized that the deed was done, that another life had been taken, that another tragedy had befallen. It could have prepared me for the scene I was about to witness though. 

I had expected today to be just like yesterday and the day before that; wake up in my crappy hotel room, shower, have breakfast and get to the warehouse to start work. Things rarely go the way I expect them to. 

Walking up the cracked concrete pathway, there was only one thing that could have warned me what had happened and I missed it.  

I missed it. All my years of training and I missed it. How was that even possible? All I had been thinking about from the start of summer had been roses, blood red ones sitting in odd places, the only clues to murders that, as far as we could tell, were all committed by the same bloodsucker.  

Hell, I'd been having dreams about the bloody things, that's how obsessed I'd become, this stupid recurring dream where everywhere I looked there were roses and I was the only one left with a pulse. I wanted to prove I was as good as the rest and killing this killer seemed like the best way to do that, as long as I didn't get killed myself in the process. That wouldn't nearly be as impressive. And now I had no one to prove myself to. 

Because of one rose. If I hadn't grown up with this shit I wouldn't have believed any of it. Even now I was still skeptical.

***

"No," I breathed, barely a whisper. A horrified whisper. "This can't be happening."  

It was just like my dream. Blood soaking the floor in crimson and bodies dumped carelessly. The only difference was that the nightmarish scene was only inside the warehouse. Outside the sun was still shining and children still played in the streets with their parents watching on while birds chirped happily. In here though... 

Desperately, just like a little kid might have, I closed my eyes and scrunched up my face, concentrating hard. When I opened my eyes again nothing changed. It wasn't going away. 

"No..." I whispered again. My knees buckled under me and I collapsed in a heap on the floor. And then the fury hit. "Dammit!" 

How could someone do something like this? Even an evil, blood-sucking somebody? It was so wrong. How could the stupid leech kill so many people, just rip their throats out and leave them to die?  

Easy, they don't care, the small, cold part inside of me whispered. 

"It's just not right though!" I wailed to no one in particular. All I had for company was the dead bodies of my colleagues and sometimes friends. 

I felt hot tears rise to my eyes and threaten to bubble over. I almost let them before I reminded myself that I had this mess to take care of. I'd have to save the freak out for later. 

Pulling myself together I scrubbed at my eyes with the heel of my hand and forced myself to my feet, taking in the gory room again. My stomach rolled. 

It's not like I'm the sort of person who gets sick at the sight of blood. In this business you couldn't be. But I'd also never seen this much blood before, not to mention that of people I knew. 

And damn, what the hell was I meant to do with all these bodies? I couldn't just leave them out in the sun to fry like I normally would.  

It was hopeless, I decided. I wouldn't be able to get this mess cleaned up before some kids tried to sneak in to play hide-and-seek or something, not by myself. I couldn't just leave the bodies here either, it didn't look some ordinary massacre and besides, that would be disrespectful. They should have a proper burial.