Blood Stained Sand - Chapter 1

With mixed emotions, I slowly walked through my bedroom door, and collapsed onto my double bed. I burst into tears, swallowing the bile coming up my throat.
"Loren, if you need me, I'll be upstairs!" My mother yelled.

I still can't believe how quickly things happened. One minute, I was with my best friend Leah, alive and well, the next, she was on the cold ground, pouring out blood, as she slowly bled to death. I had just come back from Leah's funeral in her hometown Dollington, which was a few hours' drive from Lowood.

I remember the interview I had with the police after Leah's tragic death. I was asked to tell them the events that took place leading up to her death. So I told them how we went down to the beach for a walk at night, the icy cold air burning our skin. When out of no-where, a dark figure floated over the lush dark green grass towards us. It was kind of transparent, like ghost; they laughed at me when I said that. I could tell they didn't believe me. They probably thought I was crazy or something, but I knew what I saw was real.

We started to run away from the thing, but we were slowed down from the sand. Leah fell over, so I went to help her up. As she got up, the ghostly figure appeared right behind her. She screamed as she sunk to the ground. Her soft, long blonde hair was tousled out around her. I didn't know what happened to Leah until I saw her back, she had been brutally stabbed. "Go away!" she tried to say, but her voice was muffled by the dramatic loss of blood. I looked around and the dark, ghostly figure was no-where to be found. It had disappeared as fast as it had appeared. I cried so much it hurt. It was so hard watching my best friend die. I held her hand as she laid on the cold sand, slowly bleeding to death, her blood staining the sand.

When we got home from the funeral, I went straight to bed. I couldn't sleep that night. The event of Leah's death crept up on me, playing over and over again in my head. I had work in the morning but was unsure whether I wanted to go or not. I woke up from the bright, warm sun, peaking through the gaps in my curtains. I don't remember falling asleep, so I must have only got a few hours of it.

I forced myself up out of bed, and then dragged myself over to my mirror. It was a beautiful hand crafted antique mirror my father had given me for my 16th birthday last year, before he passed away. I took one look in the mirror, and was disgusted at the reflection staring back at me. I was a mess. My 'once' long, silky black hair now looked ratty and oily. I don't even remember the last time I had a shower. My hair reminded me of the fur balls, my cat gusto coughs up.

I heard a knock on my door. It creaked as I opened it. It was my little brother Liam. He had come back from his friends place. Mum thought it would be a good idea if I had some time to myself, so he stayed there for the past week. It was so good to see him again.

"You're back!" I squealed with excitement as I hugged him hard. "You never realize how much you miss someone until they're gone." I quietly said to myself as I thought about dad.

"Did you miss me?" Liam said as a cheeky smile spread across his face.
"Of course I did."
"Good. Mum told me to tell you that Helena from work, called before to tell you that she doesn't mind if you take a few days off work."
"Alright." I said. "Tell mum I'll take today off then."
I hugged Liam one more time then let him go.

I decided I was going to spend some time with my other best friend Renee. Leah, Renee and I were inseparable. The three of us were as close as sisters. We did just about everything together. It would never be the same without Leah anymore. I fetched my phone off my bedside table and punched her digits into it. We all knew each other's number of by heart.

"Hello?" Answered Renee.
"Hey, it's Loren, I thought it would be nice if we meet up today, to watch a movie?"
"Yeah..." her voice trailed off. "I guess."
I gave her the details then hung up. This was going to be the first time, the two of us were going to meet since Leah's tragic death.

I went to have a nice warm shower. When I got out I felt refreshed and clean, the best I've felt for days. I dressed myself before straightening my long black hair. While I was applying my make-up, I kept on thinking about the ghostly figure that murdered my friend. I was trying to figure out what it was. I can't believe that anyone would ever want to hurt Leah. When I first met her, it was sickening how perfect she was. She had the longest blonde hair I have ever seen and the prettiest blue eyes. The thing that stood out the most was her amazing personality.

When I arrived at the cinema, Renee was already there. It felt weird being out of the house again. I hadn't left home for nearly a month now, until yesterday for Leah's funeral. It had been 4 weeks since her death now. Renee ran up to me and hugged me. She burst into tears.

"Stop crying or you'll make me cry." I tried to be brave for her and myself.
"I'm sorry." Her voice trembling.

We decided to watch a comedy movie to get our minds off what has happened. Renee lightened up and had a few laughs every now and then, but not me. It felt wrong to laugh. I know it sounds stupid, but that's just how I felt. It was good seeing the movie though. Better than being at home eating, sleeping or watching TV all day long.

"How does Chinese for lunch sound?" Suggested Renee as we walked out of the cinema.
"Sure, sounds good."
Renee's facial expression suddenly changed. She looked as if she had just seen a ghost.
"What's wrong?" I asked standing there confused.
"I just remembered something I needed to tell you."
"What is it?" I demanded.
"I'll tell you over lunch."

Once we ordered our Chinese, we took a seat. On the tables, was beautiful silverware. It felt like we waited forever until our dishes were served. It was probably because I really wanted to find out what was bothering Renee. Our food was finally served by a cute Chinese waitress.

"Ok, I'll tell you now."
My full attention was on Renee.
"I'm guessing you haven't checked your mail this morning?" She asked.
"Yeah... I haven't, why?"
Her face was full of fear as she spoke.
"When I checked the mail today, there was a note addressed to me, so I opened it."
Her voice started trembling.

Inside, the note read; I'm coming... "Renee paused for a moment."
"It said; 'I'm coming for you and your friend'" she burst out.
"And that's not the worst of it. It was written in bright red blood." A small tear rolled down her cheek.
"I think it's Leah's blood."
She showed me the letter. I was unsure of what to do or say.

We ate our lunch in pure silence. I felt ill from what she had told me, so I left the rest of my food untouched. I was keen to get home as fast as I could to check the mail. Renee finished eating, so we said our goodbyes and hugged before leaving. As soon as I got out of the restaurant, I started to run, trying to get home as fast as I could.