6 Upside Down Roses

Rayne finishes boarding up all but one of her cabin windows. Walking over to the final one, she peaks out of it down the street. Several villagers are outside hammering wood and lighting the tall torches that line the streets. Due to the rains, they work to keep them lit only when there is imminent danger, so as to see under the thick, black clouds.

'What's keeping Clem?' Rayne asks herself. She didn't expect it to take this long and she's beginning to worry. She throws the wooden board up diagonally across the small window and hammers in the corners. Rayne jogs outside and over to her neighbor's, an old widow who lives alone in the cabin next door. She knocks and waits for Ms. Past to answer. After a few moments, the woman cracks her door only slightly, allowing the dull light to shine in on half of her wrinkled face. Her frail, hunched body makes her look shorter than she really is. Her old age has caused most of her hair to fall out, leaving only patches of straight silver fuzz. She looks up at Rayne through a pair of oversized spectacles that sit lowly on her cheeks which look like jowls.

"Hello Ma'am, did you hear the alarm?" Rayne asks her, concerned. The hum of the metal bowl is quieter now like a whisper.

"Yes, I heard it," her voice scratches, "nother wolf?" She asks blankly. Eleanora Past is the lifelong best friend of Rayne's grandmother. It was her husband that was mauled by the werewolf when Rayne was just a girl. Her being so young, Rayne barely knew Eleanora before the murder, and since then she's been cold, sour, and alone. Except for with Grandmama, that is. The two women always stayed friends and Rayne promised her grandmother she would look after Ms. Past.

"No Ma'am, a vampire." She informs.

"Mm." Eleanora scoffs as she starts to shut the wooden door in Rayne's face. Her behavior is unchanged as she never leaves her cabin anyway. Throughout the years, Grandmama would shop for and bring the old woman what she needed. Rayne hasn't been inside the Past's old cabin since she was a small girl, about ten. Now, a strong stench of mildew seeps from the house. Specs of dust dance in the air behind the hunched woman where the light has burst through the open door. The house is dark and dreary, but Rayne can see a bundle of black roses that have been hung upside down on the wall to dry. Quickly, she pokes her foot into the doorway, blocking it.

"Ms. Past," she presses, "won't you please come stay with me tonight? I feel we will be much safer if we…"

"I have been perfectly safe not leaving my home all these years." The old woman scoffs, "I'm not about to change now just for a vampire." She emphasizes the last word as if they couldn't end her life in under thirty seconds. "At least they can be civil. They can be reasoned and bargained with."

'They can?' thinks Rayne.

"Just be glad it's only a cold-blood you're after. The other creatures of the night, the savages, they don't just drink your blood and allow you to die sleeping. They pluck your eyes, pull your teeth, slice out your tongue." Rayne face frightens as she imagines it. "They rip you apart slowly and collect your tears! They steal your soul and curse it forever damned!" She shouts, slamming the door shut. Her words leave chills on Rayne's spine. The small curls on the back of her neck straighten. She shivers, shaking herself of the old woman's words. Rayne looks around at Ms. Pasts home which is always locked. Its windows have been boarded up and the curtains drawn since Rayne could remember. Overgrown foliage has crept up its wooden sides making it look as though it has been uninhabited for many years. She wishes the stubborn old woman would not stay alone tonight, but it's true she has been safe in her raggedy home for practically Rayne's whole life. Still, Rayne will be sure to check in on her often. Spinning on her heel, she peers out onto the road. The rain has started to lightly fall again. Although it's only afternoon, the massive clouds cause the village to look dark and eerie.

'Where's Clem?' she frets. Rayne decides to go check her friend's cabin in case she's stopped there. Running over and hopping up to the small wooden porch, she knocks harshly on Clementine's door. She peaks into the front window trying to see inside. There doesn't appear to be any movement and she can't hear anything, but she tries knocking one more time. 'Maybe she's still busy helping at the bakery.' She tries to convince herself, but deep down she worries for her spunky friend. Rayne runs across the street to her grandmother's cabin. Inside, she grabs a large pail from the kitchen and walks back out toward the water well. A couple of the other villagers are also there filling up their buckets, lest they have to leave their cabins tonight.

"Have you guys seen Clementine?" she asks, approaching the two boys. Alexander and his older brother Clarence turn around to face her as she strolls up to them. Alexander smirks mischievously under his narrow blonde mustache.

"Yeah I've seen her." He grins, "So has every other man in the village." Clarence cackles, encouraging his little brother. Rayne rolls her eyes and pushes past him to the well. "So," Alexander continues, "do you need somebody to protect you tonight?" He nudges his brother who hold a crooked smile.

"I'll be fine. Clem and I will be together." Rayne replies innocently as she pours water into her bucket, not recognizing his passes. Her thoughts are on Clementine. 'Where is she?'

"Oooo." The boys tease excitedly. "Even better. C'mon, two pretty girls like you shouldn't be alone at a time like this. Clarence and I can keep you safe from the big bad night creatures." Rayne sighs, rolling her eyes.

'Are all men pigs?' she thinks as she realizes his intentions. It's no wonder to her she hasn't been taken with any of the men in her village. She turns to face them, unamused, grasping her full bucket. "Alex," she says, "based on what Clementine told me, I'd sooner feed myself to a wolf than share a night with you." She smiles and pats him patronizingly on the chest before hauling her pail of water back home. Clarence lets out a belly laugh, pointing at his brother who stands dumbfounded and sulking.

"Psh, bitch." Alexander whispers to himself, dismissing Rayne with his hand as she walks away. She places the water bucket in the kitchen looks around at the boarded-up windows with all their closed tan curtains, illuminated softly by candle lights. Rayne decides to pull her grandmother's old curio cabinet in front of door once Clementine returns. With that and food she was to bring, hopefully they'd be safe. Rayne frowns at the thought of her friend's disappearance. She walks over to stand in the open doorway, drinking in the scene of her village. The dark, dense clouds that sit over the valley cause nighttime to arrive earlier here. Tonight's light rain wets the air, causing a deep fog to arise along the village's dirt roads. Rayne watches as the fire of the street torches flicker in the sprinkling, making shadows dance on the walls of boarded up cabins. The village falls eerie and desolate as townsmen retire to their porches and cabins. The alarm ball has stopped humming, leaving only the drops of rain to break the silence. Rayne rubs her palms along her arms as she shivers in the crisp, cold air.

"Where are you Clem?" she whispers out to her.