Chapter Eleven

The crater was shrouded in mist that night. The lights from the mountains sparkled in the distance, but the world was silent and dark down in the crater. No crickets chirped and no children laughed. The only sound to be heard was the ripple of the lake.

A simple bridge stood over the lake's widest breadth. It was made practically and was sturdy; though it might have lacked beauty. It matched in aesthetic to all the crater housing, spare and few between. Their somber walls stood in average heights, making plain, rectangular shelters; mostly one-story high, with a rare two-story structure appearing now and then.

A small gondola was making its way across the crater, delivering goods to the base of the mountain. It was not a habitual occurrence, for the gondola was mainly reserved for scenic tours for the mountain folk. The route it normally traversed was around the mountain base, gliding through rich foliage and occasionally being sprayed by natural waterfalls. Ornamental marble arches stood over the lake in those areas, roses cascading from them and concealing the plain view of the crater from the mountainside.

The weekly cargo shipment still being a few days away, the gondola carried a large package for an impatient order. A stocky middle-aged man stood at its helm, rowing slowly and deliberately to ration his stamina for the long journey ahead. His sandy hair lay sparsely beneath a cloth cap which didn't do much to protect him from the cold night air. His worn jacket and patched up jeans tried their best to wrap around him snugly and a thin faded red scarf wound across his neck. He thought gladly of the generous payment he was promised for today's order, as he shifted in his never fully dry boots. He would finally be able to pay off the large mortgage he owed to PENCO, the faceless island corporation that controlled all amenities and sucked the crater people dry.

PENCO's latest construction site stood out like a sore thumb in the middle of the crater, reaching high above the modest accommodations. Their rules and regulations made it almost impossible for the crater folk to own their own lands. They slapped payments on everything and offered to buy their homes from beneath their feet at an insultingly low price.

PENCO owned the rights to all the land that lay under the crater homes, which meant their tried their best to drive away the people by messing up their powerlines and cutting off their water supply. Tonight was one such night, where the lights wouldn't turn on, but more importantly neither did the heating. The rower wondered grimly whether PENCO didn't realize that no matter how difficult they made life, the crater people would never leave, for they had nowhere else to run to.

As the gondola passed under the bridge, a figure jumped down from where it had been crouching and lying in wait. He fell so gracefully that it made not the slightest sound. The gondola barely dipped beneath his lightness, and he twirled to face the back of the rower's head with the poise of a ballerina. His lips were inches away from the other man's neck and his throat tightened in remorse as his pointed fangs sank easily through the thin scarf and into the fleshy neck. The rower breathed a sigh of relief as his pain was sucked out first before the final moments of his life. His drained-out corpse fell into the killer's arms and he was laid gently down, a look of serenity adorning his peaceful face for the first time in years.

The killer cracked open the wooden crates holding the precious cargo and hundreds of white lilies poured out, rolling themselves to surround the dead man's face. Their petals gently caressed his lips and glowed with new life as they stole his last breath. They were not the killing things themselves, but like vultures they waited; waited for death so that they may live.

The killer bent over his victim and picked up the brightest lily, his eyes glowing in hatred at the flower as he crushed it in his hand. The lily bounced back to life as he loosened his grip; unkillable now.

It was so beautiful that people looked past its darkness, for cruelty was only in the hearts of men. The lily was innocent, unknowing of suffering. The killer, however, blamed the flower of death for his own grisly murders. For it was the same white lily that haunted his dark visions.

_______________

Andrew was toying with the large trophy currently decorating the shared desk in their dorm. He spun it around and tried to fit his whole fist in it, but James said they should use it to store their stationery in instead. James placed the medals at the bottom of the cup in a practical manner and then neatly arranged a couple rulers and some pencils above it.

The door was flung open just then and Marie barged in without bothering to knock. She carried her humongous trophy with her and it was clear that she had visited James for gloating purposes.

'I see you're admiring your measly little trophy,' she said, placing her four-foot-tall trophy on the ground, 'I can fit my entire face in mine.' She proceeded to show them this by putting her entire head into the trophy.

'You're both the same,' James sighed, 'Andrew was literally just trying to fit his fist into ours.'

'I just wanted to see if I could do it,' Andrew argued.

'We're both so fun and you're just boring,' Marie added, 'Anyway, cheetahs are the BEST!' She lifted her trophy in the air again as she goaded it over James.

'Cheetahs aren't even mythical, they're just extinct.'

'Did they really exist?' Andrew gasped, wondering how James could sound so sure of himself.

'I just like to believe they did,' James smiled at him, having no idea how so much of information had been lost through the ages.

'It's cool to think there were huge cats just roaming the jungles. Cats are so cute and tiny; and also fluffy...' Andrew trailed off, lost in his thoughts about the fascinating cuteness of kittens.

'Dragons are basically just flying dinosaurs,' Marie retorted, 'They're not exactly mythical either.'

'We used to have a cat, remember?' James said to his sister, Andrew's ramblings having unlocked the far-off memory.

'Oh yes, Mr. Mittens.' She grinned. 'He was a stray who always snuck into the kitchens,' she told Andrew, 'He was really fat.'

'Mr. Mittens!' Andrew gasped, 'That's the best name, what happened to him?'

'He lived a long life,' James said quickly, before Marie could say that their mother had discovered them feeding the cat in the kitchens one day and had... put an end to it, so to speak. He knew this would only upset Andrew who was now gushing about how much he really wanted a cat.

'You can sneak one in and hide it in your dorm,' Marie suggested.

Andrew looked to James with pleading eyes.

'Where would we even find one?' James asked, 'They don't just roam about, here on the cold mountains.'

Andrew sighed, 'There were lots of strays on the islands but I was never allowed one.'

He glanced out the window at the twin suns that had moved further down. 'Anyway, we have to go to class in a bit,' he reminded them.

They had been given the morning off to rest after the sports tournament, but there was a chem exam scheduled for the afternoon.

'Ugh, I've been so busy with sports meet preparations, I didn't even study,' Marie groaned.

'You didn't do anything prior to the day,' James reminded her.

'I had to think about all the running I had to do... and like, mentally prepare for it!'

'Don't worry, it's an open book exam anyway,' Andrew reassured her as they walked to the class.

They made it just in time and took their seats as they were handed the papers. Marie immediately opened her textbook, furiously flipping through to find the answer to question one.

'Yo, Andrew,' she whispered, 'Where's this thing, I can't find it.'

Andrew gestured for her to stop talking, glancing at the invigilator who was bent over his desk.

'Oh, don't worry, he's asleep. He always sleeps for these minor tests 'cause they're not important like the finals. They don't even count towards the grade, it's just to check our progress,' she explained.

'Oh,' Andrew looked at him more closely and noticed that he was actually snoring.

'Hurry up!' Marie urged, peeping at his answer sheet and seeing that it was still blank.

Andrew chuckled at her audacity, glancing over at James who rolled his eyes and got on with his equations.

Marie waited impatiently, tapping her pencil until he finished, and then she scribbled down the answers.

'It's not cheating since it's an open book exam,' she informed him, 'An open book means that I can look at anyone's open book.'

'Hm, I do get your point. However, I am writing on a sheet and not a book,' Andrew replied humorously.

'Well, the thing is, Andrew,' she began, dragging out her reply so that she could come up with some good content, 'Aren't all books made of sheets, really? And who am I to discriminate against which is a sheet and which is a book? I believe we should be equals here in this modern era.'

'But to be equal doesn't mean we need to lose our identity and the uniqueness of our key defining features,' Andrew replied, 'What if the sheet really likes being a sheet? It will not take kindly to you declaring a book is superior and therefore mislabeling it as such.'

'I do not believe that I did indeed call the book to be a superior object,' Marie said, not to be beaten, 'The fact is, that the sheet may choose its own path, and if it believes itself to be a book then that it what it will be.'

Andrew opened his mouth to argue and Marie quickly interrupted him, 'This particular sheet has already informed me that it is, in fact, a book, you see, and therefore, I do believe that I am more familiar with its terms than you may be.'

'Alright, alright you win,' he chuckled, 'You really didn't have to try so hard you know. I'll give you the answers today on the condition that you let me help you study for the finals.'

'Deal!' she said, sticking out her pinkie with a pleased smile plastered across her face. She grabbed his whole hand with her pinkie and then shook it by the palm.

~~~

That evening they heard of another murder.

It was in the crater this time, but the rest was just the same. He had no wounds on him at all but was completely drained of blood. The forensic report showed a small amount of blood soaked into his scarf but they couldn't find how it got there or even whose blood it was. The police dismissed it as prior to the incident.

The lilies were present too, covering his corpse and glittering. Theories flew that the death flowers had evolved into killers; no one could think of a better explanation. Across the mountain people started pulling out the lilies in their gardens and burying them in the earth. It was a widespread panic and they weren't desperate enough to keep the expensive flower.

A single lily lay on their window sill the next morning, just as it had the time before. James was the first to see it this time and he eyed it in repulsion and hidden fear before he pushed it off the ledge. Andrew and he both stood in silence as they watched it gently drop down the cliffside. They didn't speak of it again but they both knew what it meant.

The students were all completely freaked out by a repetition of the incident and the twins both had dark circles under their eyes. Andrew noticed James breaking rest to sneak out most nights, breaking the strict rule of not leaving the campus which had been imposed after the second death.

One night, he saw Marie sneaking out of the campus by herself while James was back in their dorm.

Without much hesitation, he decided to follow her.

~~~

A/N: Ohohhoho it's all coming together now ;)

Thanks for voting!<3