???, (POV)
Then there was silence. I pondered his conviction. Even a mutt has more agency than him, and yet he sits in opposition to me. A miserable figure, manipulated to no end. A mop of gray-white hair, hunched over, staring blankly at the table. I pitied him and with an eternity on my side, I decided to stand here.
"There is always a damnable woman behind people like you. Letting her cloud your mind and emotions. Giving yourself up like that," I said, pulling back the chair and sitting across from him.
"What kind of trick did she play on you? What kind of poison was she? Were you her lover or her fool?" All I said was followed by more silence. The mocking had no reaction. I narrowed my eyes at him; he hadn't blinked since it began, the defilement of his mind.
"Ah, the sweet scent of chestnut and the overwhelming sadness. You were captivated the instant you saw her, and her name was just as beautiful, to you at least. Lauren," I said, smiling as he slowly looked up at me. Her name was the only sound that pulled him out of his drunken stupor.
"And you were charmed by her, a tale as old as time. However, the price was more than you bargained for. Isn't that true Edward?" I asked. He only remained silent, putting his gaze away from me and back on the table.
"Always peeking at her, your infatuation had no end. Conveniently or not, she felt isolated from rest. Hence, you brought it upon yourself to be the first to approach her. It was nice to have those brown eyes stare at you and hear that fragile voice. It made you feel special," I said, expecting a reaction, but he remained quiet.
"It was understandable that you were curious. You learned so much about her, meeting her family at congregation or what was left of it. Learning that her mother had passed away, which made you want to care for her,"
Edward kept up his composure, which made me start tapping my hands on the table. "How long will you stay silent!?" I demanded, but he didn't reply.
"Do you want to live in the past that desperately?" I said, my voice echoing in the blackness. But still no reaction. I sighed, frustration growing in the pit of my stomach. Hunching forward, I rested my elbows on the surface and crossed my fingers.
"I know, Edward. You had to bury your memory of her because that's just who you are. A coward, but that's not why we're here today? Let's start with what happened on that night, with dear Lauren" I said. There was a moment of silence just before he looked up and stared into my face.
Edward Foster, (POV)
She was wearing blue denim shorts and a black shirt tucked in with a purple butterfly embroidered on it, she quickly noticed me and smiled. Lauren's chestnut-colored hair flowed in the wind as she tried to pull it out of her face. We both started walking, exchanged glances, meeting on the sidewalk. We waited until we were out of school.
The sun peeked out from behind the clouds while the birds chirped in the trees. We continued walking, playfully bumping shoulders with each other.
We soon reached a very green block. Grassy lawns with white fences, sprinklers running on and making everything wet. There were other kids walking around us, and a bustling school bus rushed past, dropping children at their houses.
"So, I'll come and pick you up at ten," I said, hoping to see her again. "Sure," she said, patiently meeting my eyes.
She was just about my height, maybe a few centimeters shorter. We met eyes, and I stepped closer to her, reflexively glancing around. As I turned back to face her, she tilted her head forward. We met for a quick kiss.
???, (POV)
My stomach tugged against my throat, causing me to leap up from my chair. Both of my hands shot towards him and tightly grabbed the collar of his trench coat, lifting him and bringing him an inch away from my face.
"You fucking bastard, what do you think you're doing?! Do you think I'm here to see your bullshit?" I yelled, but still no dame reaction. I scoffed, throwing him back into his place. It was starting to feel like I was talking to a dead man.
I sighed and quickly settled my composure. I promptly picked up my chair and sat back down. Just now, I had snapped, which was highly unlike me. But there was something about this obsession with pointless memories that disgusted me. However, I was unable to remember why, or that I too had forgotten.
I sat down and took a deep breath again. "You act like a drug addict and a fool, always going back and forth. But now you're in no position to dream about this," I said, clenching my teeth. "That whore was the cause of all your problems, whether you like it or not," As soon as the words left my mouth, his eyes snapped at me with visible anger.
I almost flinched in surprise; discontent were wrapped across his face as if I had struck a nerve.
"What's with that look? Are you perhaps angry at me? You? Who's mindlessly hanging onto memories of her? Why don't you remember what happened on that lonesome night!" I said, my voice rising again in the emptiness of the space.
Edward Foster, (POV)
I tugged popcorn stuck in between my teeth and ignored the taste of the discounted fountain drink stuck in the back of my tongue. While Lauren got inside the car and sat beside me, sadistically enjoyed the horrified expression on my face from the beginning of the movie, till now.
Suddenly, while still. I heard a faint slight buzz in my head. I ignored it as she giggled, she gently placed her hand on my cheek, "Edward, love do you want me to buy you a night light". She asked with a wide smile, finding my pain hilarious.
I turned to her. "Thanks to you I already have one," I said, looking at her with a stern expression and starting the car without looking.
She instantly broke into a grin while I sighed and looked ahead. While I drove the car out of the parking lot. It was a late night, the breeze was cold and refreshing on the highway and the moon was high with the sky cloudless.
We carelessly bantered and messed around, unit at the end one exchange her gaze became stuck on something on the road, and quickly, her eyes widen in panic. "Look out!" she yelled, and my head snapped back on the road.
There was a white figure on the road ahead of us. Without a second thought, I jolted the steering wheel to my left. Nonetheless, the figure crashed into the bumper, hitting the windshield and then landing on the road behind us.
The car came to a screeching halt towards the metal rail on the side. We both sat still for a moment to process what had happened, but before I could act, Lauren grabbed my hand. I turned to her pale face.
"Edward, listen to me. Just start the car and let's just drive away. Please", she suddenly pleaded with all sincerity in the world.
But I just looked at her confusedly with shock mixed in. "What? You want me to leave someone I hit with my car?" I asked with wide eyes while I grabbed the car handle.
"Just...Just please, let's go right now!" Lauren again pleaded with me. Tears started welling up in her eyes, but the absurdity of the situation was too much.
"Calm down It'll be fine", I said as I pulled the lever and opened the car door.
She grabbed onto my sleeve in a last desperate attempt to stop me. "Don't go!". Lauren yelled again, but I pushed myself out.
"Just stay inside!" I said back with growing frustration. Lauren screamed my name, but I didn't understand why she was acting like that.
I stepped on the road and looked down at who I had run over with my car, and when I saw it. My mind skipped a beat.
It was a mangled white mannequin with a twisted leg and an arm and its head to its side. Its smooth white surface reflected the moonlight. The way its body slummed down almost felt like empty suit.
The first thought that came to my mind, was that maybe this was a sick prank. Someone had jokingly placed a dummy on the road to scare some unexpecting drivers.
Cruel but somewhat grounded in reality, but then it quickly started moving.
All four limbs twisted backward at the ground, like appendages of an insect. Its hip broke, allowing it to spread its legs to its side and its knees up to the sky. It picked itself up from the ground, and its head snapped toward me.
It stared at me, with a smooth white oval surface. Suddenly I heard the car door open and my head snapped towards Lauren jumping out and bolting away from the car.
At that moment, I could only stare, not understanding what was happening. Why was she asking me to drive away? Did she see what it was? Or, did she know what it was?
I could have spent hours thinking about it, but then it landed on my car. With a loud crash, I immediately covered my face as the glass shard flew everywhere. In the next moment, it leaped from the top of the car towards her.
That thing was after Lauren, and she knew it. Its speed was unreal, as It reached Lauren with few leaps. Pouncing on her, like a spider catching its prey. Bashing her head down into the ground right on the gravel. Seeing her body go limp shook me to the core.
The first thought that came to my mind "I needed to help her", the second one, "I needed a weapon quickly" I looked at my car, and the door was already cracked open because of the incaved roof. Seeing the car jack rod sticking out from behind the back seat. I ran to it and pulled it out.
While the Mannequin snapped his hip into place and its knees came forward, it stood up at just under eight feet tall. It held Lauren with the back of her neck, like a dead cat.
I squeezed the rod tightly in my hand, while my senses screamed at me to turn around. In to that, I screamed at the top of my lungs, silencing my fear, I sprinted forwards. While It didn't care, nor bothered to move or pay attention to me, until I had stabbed the rod into its back.
I managed to do it and rather easily. The jack went straight through its body, and it was empty from the inside. While the Mannequin awkwardly turned around and looked down at me, with the rod sticking out of his front.
It just stared at me with its flat face, while I stared back, neither of us making a move. I was all too afraid of what would happen I looked away, but I had to and did, at Lauren.
She was out cold, bleeding from her forehead, and unmoving. And right then, I suddenly woke up to the fear and care for my own life, causing me to flinch. And so did the Mannequin, who responded by hunching slightly, enough for me to notice it.
Then suddenly, its jolted head back and shot its leg up, right into my abdomen. The ground beneath my feet disappeared as my eyes bulged outwards. I saw them getting far away from me, with Lauren still in its hand. I couldn't do anything, as I landed on the front of my car.
A loud crack entered my ear, and I wasn't sure whether it was my body that made the sound or the windscreen behind my back. My mouth was wide open, gasping for air, but I couldn't breathe. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't bring myself to breathe. Soon the numbing sensation of a sudden shock started to disappear.
I started feeling pain, first in the chest, then the neck, then the back. My arms and legs went numb, and I couldn't feel or move. It took me a moment to realize that everything was becoming darker. I was losing sight of Lauren. Then all at once, everything, became dark and quiet.