Forsaken

Kneeling on her bathroom floor, Astrid cried. Her tears running down her cheeks, her makeup now smeared.
“Why, why did you have to die? How could you leave me? I’ve been happy for so long, why did you have to die?” she said to herself between sobs, her tears coming faster now. She picked up a small knife hidden underneath a towel, almost pleading against her as she gripped the handle. “Why,” she cried again holding the knife looking towards the ceiling shaking her head in remorse.
She cut into a tattoo on her wrist that spelt “Forsaken”, blood dripping to the linoleum floor below. Her eye sight blurred by burning tears as the knife fell from her grasp. It only took but little time before she fell to the floor her pale skin lying in her own blood. “Forgive me,” she whispered as her hazel eyes closed for eternal rest with a phone ringing in the room across.

†††

“Where are we going,” Ashlee whispered clutching the hand of her friend Astrid, with her eyes closed tightly shut.
“You’ll see,” replied Astrid with a grin “I think you’ll fit in here.”
It was a fifteen to twenty minute walk by the time Ashlee finally commanded Astrid to open her eyes again.
“Where here,” Astrid announced proudly
Ashlee opened her eyes, surprised that the sky was no longer light as when they had left.
“Where are we?” Ashlee questioned looking around in suspicion.
The two girls were standing in what was to be a clearing in the middle of the woods. Before them was what appeared to be an old church. The heavy oak doors were shut and the stained glass windows illuminated by the moonlight. All was silent except for the sound of dried leaves under the girl’s feat as they walked closer.
“You’ll see,” Astrid repeated again walking towards the heavily made doors, with steady striding steps. Ashlee followed curiously. “In here,” Astrid said looking over her should at Ashlee, giving her a wicked grin.
Astrid pushed one of the doors open exposing life inside the old church. For a moment Ashlee stood mesmerized until Astrid spoke once more.
“This Hun, is The Masquerade.”
The inside was dark and had a supernatural sensation, loud industrial music playing over huge speakers up high on a ledge where the DJ played. People dancing in the strobe and black light shadows, wielding glow sticks and L.E.D lights. There ghostly faces appearing intoxicated by the music, there trench coats flying around them. The further in, the more endless it seemed, couches of black and red, chairs, tables, and dance cages hanging from the ceiling with girls dancing wildly within.
Astrid walked Ashlee to one of the unoccupied couches, feeling the music becoming one with her heartbeat. They both felt at ease and at home in there new surroundings resting on a satin couch. Astrid seductively gazed towards a table near by, while Ashlee continued to stare at the glow stick dancers. A tall vampiric figure dancing among them. His brown hair falling a little past his ears, sweat dripping from him, his body moving in a repeating pattern as if it were one with the undying rhythm.
“His name is Sinstello,” said Astrid leaning against Ashlee, resting her head on her. “Look at him isn’t he gorgeous?”
Ashlee gave no response, but just continued staring toward the dance floor where the mysterious young man still danced, his chain of glow sticks weaving around his arms, and under his legs, his movements matching the singing of David Draiman, the solar system of lights revolving around him as if he were the sun. She stared at him unfaltering. And then one moment he was there and in the next, he was gone.
“Can I join you,” came a voice from the shadows, startling Ashlee making her strobe light entranced high fade. There was the mysterious man, right besides her lurking in the shadows, she wondered if he had felt her watching him, or could he feel her studying his movements. There eyes locked on each other a mutual connection forming both unwilling to look away.
“Sinstello,” Astrid called from Ashlee’s side breaking the bond “Why don’t you sit down?”
With elegance he found a place by Ashlee’s side, his arm resting on the backrest ready to protect her as if it was natural to him.
“It’s been along time Astrid, what brings you here?”
“I’m showing my friend around, she’s new to town.” Astrid said a little too quickly “Sinstello, this is Ashlee, Ashlee meet the infamous Sinstello.” A smile spread across her face. As is she was happy that she was the one to be introducing him.
Ashlee looked at him with yearning, something about him she could not resist, his blue eyes penetrating her. Her mind raced, he must be able to see right through me. She smiled shyly as he took her hand and lifted it up to his lips and kissed it with the gentlest touch. She shivered involuntarily. Ashlee could not control a quickly growing frown.
“The pleasure is all mine, Ashlee.”
Ashlee smiled shyly not knowing what exactly to say “You dance well,” she stuttered making Sinstello chuckle.
“Yes I suppose.” Immediately Ashlee left intimidated by his sudden arrogance. Astrid only sat silent, apparently distraught that Sinstello was so concentrated on Ashlee. “Have you been a night club before?” Sinstello interrogated seeing her reaction to the glow stick dancers.
“Yes, but not like this one. Where I lived people like us weren’t liked very much.”
“People Like us?” Astrid retorted, finally speaking “What exactly are people like us?” she gave Ashlee an irritated scowl and stocked off. Ashlee watched her friend leave disinclined to follow and looked back at Sinstello. She opened her mouth to apologize but he stopped her.
“Don’t worry about Astrid; I’ll calm her down tomorrow.”
“I didn’t mean too….”
“I know,” he interrupted “Most of the people here are a big family, most of us stereotyped out of our normal communities. Not many people know about this place, it isn’t on no map and it defiantly isn’t advertised.” He paused for a moment looking in the direction of Astrid, “We all have one thing in common, the people here,” he made a hand motion pointing towards the dancers, “We all came here because we had a similar dream, to be excepted for who we are. Most of us, especially Astrid know about rejection. Astrid has had a hard life, god when I meet her nine years back she was a mess, doing hard drugs, cutting herself the whole load, she’s cleaned up since then, she’s like a sister to me.”
Nodding to show she understood Ashlee stood up and spoke softly
“I think I should go, I don’t want Astrid to be mad at me,”
“Where would you go, do you know your way home?” Ashlee shook her head
“Astrid made me close my eyes the whole way here.”
Sinstello smiled “Typical Astrid, let me take you home I have my car outback.” He gestured towards the small exit sign.
“That would be awesome,” replied Ashlee
Sinstello and Ashlee walked in between dancing bodies reaching another heavy oak door; he pushed it open feeling an instant chill in the night air. His red ’45 mustang parked next to a little lamp post, the light flickering on and off as they got into the car.
“So where do you live,” Sinstello asked turning on the ignition and lighting a cigarette.
“14508 Emerson and Lawndale.” The words barely left her mouth and his face went paler.
“Emerson and Lawndale?” he repeated, taking a quick and nervous hit off his cigarette. Ashlee noticed his color change.
“Yeah, why is everything ok?”
“Yeah, yeah, I just use to have some buddies that lived on Lawndale.”
Sinstello started to drive off, he followed a winding road that lead to town out from the woods, he drove the back streets, driving at his own speed. Ashlee and Sinstello drove in silence, occasionally glancing at each other. He slowed the car as he reached Emerson and Lawndale, his eyes wide and his hand nervously tapping the steering wheel.
“Can you park a little way from my house?” Ashlee asked him “I don’t want my mom to worry.”
He pulled the car aside, and turned it off. They sat in the darkness for a minute.
“Thank you for everything,” Ashlee said stepping out of the car
“Its no problem, I’ll walk you to your house.”
They both walked down the sidewalk, his trench coat flying behind him giving him a much more vampiric image. The speed they walked was very fast pace as he kept looking over his shoulder and surveying the neighborhood. He twitched when he heard a small sound of a car down the road, the headlights dimming as it came closer.
“Here we are,” said Ashlee stopping before a small brick house.
“Thanks aga…” multiple shots echoed through the night air. The car that they had seen coming down the street was now driving past them, windows being rolled up and a gun being pulled inside. Ashlee stood there in horror as Sinstello spun around in time to see the car drive away as he hit the ground. Five multiple shot wounds to the chest was all it needed, he spat at the street where the car had been seconds earlier. Ashlee still looked down at him in horror. He reached up to her grabbing her hand and pushed a small piece of paper into it.
“Call Astrid, tell her always forsaken,” he begged and his hand fell from hers landing on the hard cement sidewalk. His eyes were closed and a huge pool of blood lay surrounding him. Tears filled in Ashlee’s eyes as she unfolded the paper. There was song lyrics and Astrid’s phone number scribbled down. Ashlee stood there for a moment longer looking down at Sinstello’s physical body knowing his spirit was no longer there.
“I will,” she said to him and ran into her house picking up her phone. She hurriedly dialed Astrid’s number. It rang twice before it picked up.
“Hey is Astrid there?” she said suddenly
“Yeah, this is her, who is this?”
“This is Ashlee,” she replied with haste, her voice tensing up hoping that Astrid would not hang up because of earlier.
“Oh, how did you get my number?” Astrid asked interested
“Sinstello gave it to me, but that’s why I’m calling you.” Ashlee paused for a moment unable to get the right words to tell Astrid. The man who considered her a sister had just died. There was silence on the other end of the phone, Ashlee wished that Astrid would say something to make it easier, but her mouth was dry and she was unable to speak.
“Well?” said Astrid finally
“Sinstello’s dead,” responded Ashlee. A long period of silence went by.
“Sinstello’s what?”
“He’s dead,” cried Ashlee “He was walking me home and a car came by and shot him.” There was another long pause, both girls apparently not believing it.
“Did he,” Astrid started, “Did he saying anything to you before he died?”
“He gave me your number and told me to call you.” Ashlee said with urgency
“I’m so sorry, Astrid I knew you guys were close but…” Astrid hung up the phone; Ashlee listened to the constant buzz of a call ended short.
Ashlee sat at her kitchen table with the phone next to her. Sitting there, Ashlee unfolded the paper again, and scribbled in small letters near the top was the title of the song “Forsaken”. Flashing back, Ashlee relived Sinstello grapping her hand “Call Astrid,” he begged “tell her always forsaken” his last words ran through her mind over and over. She picked up the phone again and redialed Astrid’s number her fingers clumsily pushing in the digits. Astrid would not pick up.
Kneeling on her bathroom floor, Astrid cried. Her tears running down her cheeks, her makeup now smeared.
“Why, Why did you have to die? How could you leave me? I’ve been happy for so long, why did you have to die?” she said to herself between sobs, her tears coming faster now. She picked up a small knife hidden underneath a towel, almost pleading against her as she gripped the handle. “Why,” she cried again holding the knife looking towards the ceiling shaking her head in remorse.
She cut into a tattoo on her wrist that spelt “Forsaken”, blood dripping to the linoleum floor below. Her eye sight blurred by burning tears as the knife fell from her grasp. It only took but little time before she fell to the floor her pale skin lying in her own blood. “Forgive me,” she whispered as her hazel eyes closed for eternal rest with a phone ringing in the room across.