Helen Darlin' by midnightcupofnoodles

Helen ran, her bare feet bleeding profusely as the steady drip of red colored the forest floor.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

The sound of her lone steps synchronized with the melody of blood pounding through her ears and crunch of fallen leaves crushed beneath her feet.

Though she could outrun the place, she couldn't outrun the pictures flashing in front of her eyes.

The image of her dead boyfriend hanging from the ceiling, his tall, handsome figure somehow diminished as the sour scent of the recent dead wafted through the air.

The words in crimson splashed across his crooked, and now permanent, smile as the rising sun cast ugly shadows on his distorted face.

Her mind became her enemy even as her feet carried her onwards.

The face of her fellow campers when they had discovered her standing beside him, hands holding a knife and a face empty of expressions.

The joyous, sinful laugh which had erupted from her lips without her knowledge and the last words she'd thrown at them.

'You killed me. Now, I take revenge.'

Aaaaaaah.

With a cry, she tripped on a broken branch and fell, her bare knees scraping the muddy earth. Too tired to carry on, she lay on the ground and stared at the only part of her body without one drop of blood – her hands.

However much she tried to will her mind to replay the events, it proved fruitless.

Her memory seemed fractured: all she could remember was saying goodbye to her parents that morning and loading her backpack into Carlos's truck. As an engagement present, Carlos had planned the entire trip to the Halloween Fun Camp. Knowing her love for spooky stuff, he had brought her here today, on Halloween, and had proceeded to make it one of the best days of her life.

They had wandered the woods, making out beneath the ever stretching canopy of leaves and the gentle splashing of water cleaving the forests in half.

Until they had spotted the empty hut in the along the riverside and settled down to eat the packed picnic lunch.

After a memorable afternoon of frolicking, she had gone to wash her face in the river.

It was then that she found it: the glittering blue stone which shimmered under the golden sun.

It had begged her to touch it; to scrape her coarse palms across its smooth opalescent surface. It had seemed ethereal, too good to be real, sitting absurdly still even as the world around it seemed to be in constant motion.

'Helen,' Carlos had called from behind, trying to make sure he hadn't lost her.

But she hadn't had time for answers.

Helen darlin'.

A deeper voice had called her name, seeming to come from everywhere and nowhere.

The trees had stopped their rustling, the birds had toned down their songs and the water, which had splashed cheerfully second ago, seemed to have gone solid.

Unable to ignore the seductive cry, she had put out both her hands and touched the stone.

Cradling it with both her hands, she had lifted it to her ears. It had whispered long lost dark secrets; secrets which no one should have ever heard.

Helen darlin'.

You and me. We were always meant to be.

The world had gone dark. As had her memory.

Stifling a sob, Helen rose on both her feet and swayed gently under the moonlight. Her black hair merged with the forest, and the crackling of crickets was a soothing balm to her tortured ears.

She glanced down at her hands and remembered everything, and yet nothing.

She remembered the action, but not the emotions; as if her mind was blocked from contacting the body. As if an invisible presence was acting as a buffer between the two and diverting her thoughts elsewhere while taking over command of a body; as if it was a captain-less ship wandering the dark seas in search of something unattainable.

Helen darlin'.

Madness, sweet madness.

She clutched her head as thoughts and views, none her own, but all real, played across her mind.

We'll be revenge darlin'.

You and me.

Unable to bring herself to face the facts, she lifted her feet and ran towards the sound of water dashing across the dreary woods.

She ran until heavy curtains of darkness lowered down her eyes, and her mind went numb.

Then, she ran no more.

The blue stone dropped from her pale, clean hands, a little heavier than it had been when Helen had picked it up.

It lay still for a long time, shimmering under the light of the moon wading across the night, waiting for the next Halloween when it would get the chance to shine again.

***