Black and Red

Another scream pierced the air. She shuddered, crouching behind the ebony hardwood dresser. It felt cool on her skin as she sank lower and lower against it. She closed her eyes hoping to drown it all out but more painful memories started plaguing her. Only a few weeks back, her parents dropped her off in their shiny black limousine. The school was enormous, frighteningly so. Luckily for her parents, it also had an equally gigantic hostel so they wouldn't have to see her except on holidays.

Tall obsidian-colored spires stuck up haphazardly at almost every inch. Their ends were as sharp as stakes. The school was enclosed by an inky impenetrable wall, on which old scones hung gloomily at intervals. The message was clear: No one escapes. The heavy iron gate had creaked open, painstakingly slow. The windows were there but she couldn't see anything through them. It was almost like they were tinted. No. They were not tinted, the inside was just that dark. She had expected there to be huge fields and sports areas, considering the size of the campus but all that stretched on for miles and miles was a monotonous charcoal road. The moment she had stepped inside, the temperature seemed to drop by a hundred degrees. A grand endless staircase, broad enough to fit a thousand people, standing in a line shoulder to shoulder, was sprawled across the lobby. The banisters were made of smooth dark marble. Students were sitting on them aimlessly. Their eyes haunted. Their faces gaunt. In the background, were somber archways. They did not look stable. She had carefully drawn closer to them and seen inscriptions. “What is this place?” she had whispered, running her hands across the crude writings. 

A loud eruption snapped her back to the present. Still trembling, she stumbled to the window. 

A red house had just….appeared…right in the middle of the road. In the midst of the dull surroundings, its brightness almost made it glow. She felt drawn towards and walked with long hurried steps. That's when she saw her. An old lady with the warmest smile she had ever seen. The woman had white hair and kind eyes. She beckoned her closer and she went. She could not help it. 

She felt something tug inside her. She did not know this woman yet words pored out of her. “ I am next. They are going to get me next. And that will be it for me. That will be it - for my life.” she cried, her voice breaking. 

“I know” the lady said, her voice like honey “I know.” 

For some reason, her words replaced the panic inside her with calmness. She was able to breath easily again. A small subconscious voice did nag her, telling her that ruby colored cottages did not just burst out from under the ground with nice old ladies living peacefully in them. But she ignored it, for the girl finally felt safe for the first time in her life. 

She did not notice that her surroundings faded away. She did not notice that the lady’s soft wrinkled hands had turned into gnarled claws. She did not notice that the lady’s one toothed grin had turned into a full canine one. She did not notice. She just took comfort in that fleeting moment of safety.