Post by Tiara on Mar 28, 2013 6:19:04 GMT -8
Grave Girls
Marina and Helena have spent the last eleven years of their life underground, trying to survive in this hell on Earth that is left. What or why they are trying to survive from is still a mystery to these two skeleton girls.
So, I'm going to try and update this, and hopefully get a full story out of it. It's set in the future, in a world filled with evil, and despair. Two sisters have to leave the safety of their home, and learn that maybe an early grave is better than living.
There will be graphic imagery and violence in this story.
Enjoy!
- Chapter One: Moles
The strong gust of wind pelted her thin skin with grains of sand. A vast landscape of a wasteland lay in front of her; desolate and bleak, a road leading to no where good. The road beneath her bare, tender feet was burning hot. Jagged rocks and garbage marked her path. Her throat burned and scratched, her eyes stung from the dust. She had only been walking for less than an hour, and she was ready to give up.
The sound of a vehicle, the engine roaring in the distance, made her shield her eyes against the relentless sun. A rusting caracas of a pick-up was rumbling towards her at an alarming rate. This was how it ended.
***
The smell of the animal fat candle burning on the crate that served as their table filled the small, earthen room. The home Marina shared with her twin sister and father was nothing more than a hole in the ground. It had once been a root cellar, the thick wooden shelves that had once held food now held remnants of the past and small treasures. One such treasure was the rusted rifle that Marina’s father used to feed and protect them with. He had taken it with him, though...
The room had cinder block walls, and a packed dirt floor. There was a ladder they pushed up against the wall to create more space, that lead up to a door in the ceiling. Outside, in the world, the door was covered with brush and sand to keep raiders from finding their tiny home.
Some days, the darkness was too much, and this was one of those days. The candles were precious, and wasting one was almost sinful. But Marina couldn’t take the wet, slurpy coughs of her sister, Helena, in the blackness anymore. She was getting worse, Marina knew. Their home, which kept them hidden, was also slowly killing them. The dankness grew the black mold that slithered up the walls and in the corners, and the wet air did nothing for them either. Neither did the putrid smell of the waste bucket in the corner that hadn’t been empty in almost a week since their father left to do some trading in the closest settlement.
He was the only one allowed above. It had been almost six years since Helena and Marina had seen the sun. Since the raiders had taken their mother, and forced them into hiding. The lack of sunlight had a drastic effect on the two girls. Their skin was thin, and pale. The blue veins that criss-crossed their bodies were highly visible through their almost transparent skin. Thin, brittle bones broke often from the slightest bump, leaving big blooms of purple across their skin. Beneath their skin, their spines curved in a dramatic ‘s’, like a stealthy snake. Both girls complained of aches and melancholy. Their pupils expanded to allow the little available light into their eyes, giving them the appearance of having hollow, black irises.
They lived like moles.
Their father was broad and tall. His skin tanned a deep, golden brown from the harsh sun. He spent little time in the hole of a home he provided his daughters, and it showed. Marina cursed her father for being a man, and having such freedom to wander.
“Marina?” Helena’s small voice whispered into the darkness. “He’s not coming back, is he?” She turned onto her side, rumpling the thin, ratty blankets that was their bed, and faced her sister.
The sickness had kept Helena’s mind fitful, as the fever overtook her. Marina had been glad her sister didn’t have to worry over the days that stretched by without the return of their father. Frowning, Marina realized that she’d been wrong. Helena was perceptive.
“He’s just held up,” Marina murmured, stroking her sister’s snarled onyx hair. She had tried to braid the long hair to keep it neat, but Helena had tossed and turned so much over the past days that it was nothing more than a rat’s nest now. Marina wanted to give some excuse, but she knew little of the world and how it worked up above them. She had been a little girl when they left the tiny village after the raid, after her mother was taken.
Marina still knew little as to why it was important for her and Helena to remain below, out of site of anyone who could steal them away. Was every girl as precious as they were? Or was there something their father wasn’t telling them?
“Marina,” Helena managed to choke out before a coughing fit shock her thin body. Marina grabbed her arms and raised them above her head to help. When the jag subsided, Helena licked her chapped lips. “You don’t have to lie to me. I know he’s left us to rot here.” Her eyes were cold and bitter. “I would leave us, too.”
“Don’t say that!” Marina scolded her sister. “He’s coming,” she added weakly. Why did she feel the need to defend him? Or did she just want to protect Helena?
In the dim light, Helena rolled her eyes, and shook her head. “And I suppose you believe he’s bringing me back some magical medicine to make better, too? Maybe he’ll bring us meat, and a special surprise? Hm?” She pushed herself up into a sitting position, her bony shoulders resting against the cold, cement walls. “Stop being a little girl, Rina!” She cried. “Look at us, at our home. We are little skeletons, a drag on his life. Why bother with us? To bring us food and water? We’re too meek and scared to go up there. He knows that. We’ll die down here, me first, then you not to long after. You can sit next to my decomposing body until it happens. Once we’re gone, he doesn’t have to worry about this little hell-hole.” Her rage sent her into another fit. Her eyes were wild as she choked and sputtered, trying to breath.
“Arms up, Hellie! Raise them above your head.” Marina felt tears burn at her eyelids. She hated when Helena talked like this, and she hated seeing the coughs rack through her body. “It’s okay, calm down. Shh,” she murmured, and pulled her twin into her arms. She didn’t know what else to do. They were all alone.
Helena’s words hung in the air, a premonition of what was to come. It’s icy fingers crept down Marina’s twisted spine, sending shivers of fear through her. They were going to die down here. Their home would be their grave. Six feet under: a tomb for two mirror image girls who lived like shadows.
Even if they could leave, they couldn’t just walk out there unprotected. They had no weapons, and how would Helena travel? Just her coughing left her spent and wrung out. Helena would just make them an even easier target.
“We’re not going to die down here, Hellie,” Marina promised. She rocked her sister’s lithe body, and kissed the top of her head. She reeked of dirty hair, animal fat, and dampness. The smell was comforting as Marina drifted off to sleep beside Helena.
The sound of a vehicle, the engine roaring in the distance, made her shield her eyes against the relentless sun. A rusting caracas of a pick-up was rumbling towards her at an alarming rate. This was how it ended.
***
The smell of the animal fat candle burning on the crate that served as their table filled the small, earthen room. The home Marina shared with her twin sister and father was nothing more than a hole in the ground. It had once been a root cellar, the thick wooden shelves that had once held food now held remnants of the past and small treasures. One such treasure was the rusted rifle that Marina’s father used to feed and protect them with. He had taken it with him, though...
The room had cinder block walls, and a packed dirt floor. There was a ladder they pushed up against the wall to create more space, that lead up to a door in the ceiling. Outside, in the world, the door was covered with brush and sand to keep raiders from finding their tiny home.
Some days, the darkness was too much, and this was one of those days. The candles were precious, and wasting one was almost sinful. But Marina couldn’t take the wet, slurpy coughs of her sister, Helena, in the blackness anymore. She was getting worse, Marina knew. Their home, which kept them hidden, was also slowly killing them. The dankness grew the black mold that slithered up the walls and in the corners, and the wet air did nothing for them either. Neither did the putrid smell of the waste bucket in the corner that hadn’t been empty in almost a week since their father left to do some trading in the closest settlement.
He was the only one allowed above. It had been almost six years since Helena and Marina had seen the sun. Since the raiders had taken their mother, and forced them into hiding. The lack of sunlight had a drastic effect on the two girls. Their skin was thin, and pale. The blue veins that criss-crossed their bodies were highly visible through their almost transparent skin. Thin, brittle bones broke often from the slightest bump, leaving big blooms of purple across their skin. Beneath their skin, their spines curved in a dramatic ‘s’, like a stealthy snake. Both girls complained of aches and melancholy. Their pupils expanded to allow the little available light into their eyes, giving them the appearance of having hollow, black irises.
They lived like moles.
Their father was broad and tall. His skin tanned a deep, golden brown from the harsh sun. He spent little time in the hole of a home he provided his daughters, and it showed. Marina cursed her father for being a man, and having such freedom to wander.
“Marina?” Helena’s small voice whispered into the darkness. “He’s not coming back, is he?” She turned onto her side, rumpling the thin, ratty blankets that was their bed, and faced her sister.
The sickness had kept Helena’s mind fitful, as the fever overtook her. Marina had been glad her sister didn’t have to worry over the days that stretched by without the return of their father. Frowning, Marina realized that she’d been wrong. Helena was perceptive.
“He’s just held up,” Marina murmured, stroking her sister’s snarled onyx hair. She had tried to braid the long hair to keep it neat, but Helena had tossed and turned so much over the past days that it was nothing more than a rat’s nest now. Marina wanted to give some excuse, but she knew little of the world and how it worked up above them. She had been a little girl when they left the tiny village after the raid, after her mother was taken.
Marina still knew little as to why it was important for her and Helena to remain below, out of site of anyone who could steal them away. Was every girl as precious as they were? Or was there something their father wasn’t telling them?
“Marina,” Helena managed to choke out before a coughing fit shock her thin body. Marina grabbed her arms and raised them above her head to help. When the jag subsided, Helena licked her chapped lips. “You don’t have to lie to me. I know he’s left us to rot here.” Her eyes were cold and bitter. “I would leave us, too.”
“Don’t say that!” Marina scolded her sister. “He’s coming,” she added weakly. Why did she feel the need to defend him? Or did she just want to protect Helena?
In the dim light, Helena rolled her eyes, and shook her head. “And I suppose you believe he’s bringing me back some magical medicine to make better, too? Maybe he’ll bring us meat, and a special surprise? Hm?” She pushed herself up into a sitting position, her bony shoulders resting against the cold, cement walls. “Stop being a little girl, Rina!” She cried. “Look at us, at our home. We are little skeletons, a drag on his life. Why bother with us? To bring us food and water? We’re too meek and scared to go up there. He knows that. We’ll die down here, me first, then you not to long after. You can sit next to my decomposing body until it happens. Once we’re gone, he doesn’t have to worry about this little hell-hole.” Her rage sent her into another fit. Her eyes were wild as she choked and sputtered, trying to breath.
“Arms up, Hellie! Raise them above your head.” Marina felt tears burn at her eyelids. She hated when Helena talked like this, and she hated seeing the coughs rack through her body. “It’s okay, calm down. Shh,” she murmured, and pulled her twin into her arms. She didn’t know what else to do. They were all alone.
Helena’s words hung in the air, a premonition of what was to come. It’s icy fingers crept down Marina’s twisted spine, sending shivers of fear through her. They were going to die down here. Their home would be their grave. Six feet under: a tomb for two mirror image girls who lived like shadows.
Even if they could leave, they couldn’t just walk out there unprotected. They had no weapons, and how would Helena travel? Just her coughing left her spent and wrung out. Helena would just make them an even easier target.
“We’re not going to die down here, Hellie,” Marina promised. She rocked her sister’s lithe body, and kissed the top of her head. She reeked of dirty hair, animal fat, and dampness. The smell was comforting as Marina drifted off to sleep beside Helena.
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