Red Drabbles
Feb. 15th, 2006 10:11 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
garnigalCrossposted to open_on_sunday. Dark Red is a set of three creepifying drabbles. Bright Red is a very light, fun drabble.
It's quite a contrast.
Dark Red
The sign was white.
Or rather, it should have been white. At night, it was a beacon in the darkness. One of the few places that stayed open 24 hours, George’s was Buffy’s favourite place to stop on her way home from patrolling.
Only a few weeks ago, she would have been stopping here with Angel.
She’d have lingered over selecting a chocolate bar, drawing out her time with her boyfriend. Their eyes would meet and Buffy would blush at the depth of emotion she saw.
Instead, she stared up at the red sign, George’s blood dripping onto the pavement.
*********
Like there wasn’t enough red already, the police cars came screaming up, lights spinning frantically.
She was too far away to hear what the cops were saying. It didn’t matter anyway; their horrified and nauseous expressions were far more eloquent than any words could be.
She watched the cops busily work the scene. She thought that the red strobes made them look more like victims than protectors.
It took hours, but eventually they removed George, packed up their evidence and left.
She shivered once or twice, but she stayed until they turned the sign off and the red was gone.
******************
She didn’t sleep anymore.
Sleep left her vulnerable. Not to Angelus himself, but the dreams he’d inspired with his bloody tour of all their old haunts.
He’d left a dead kitten in her locker. He’d left a dismembered puppy in the library.
He’d left bodies in every cemetery in town, in places where they’d once shared passionate kisses.
He’d left Miss Calendar in Giles’s bed.
Her subconscious had plenty of material to create dreams from, yet she still kept seeing the same thing whenever she closed her eyes: the sign at George’s being slowly covered with blood.
So much red.
Bright Red
Her skin felt tight. Everything itched, but she didn’t dare touch, knowing that would just make it worse.
She felt cold, but if she put her hand near her skin she could feel heat radiating. She tried to convince her parents to let her stay home from school, but got a lecture combining the importance of education and the value of learning from experience.
Her clothes rubbed painfully, but she kept her long sleeves rolled down. She didn’t need to display the full extent of the damage.
“Whoa.” Xander stared. “You’re all red, Willow.”
Willow’s eyes filled. “Worst. Sunburn. Ever.
It's quite a contrast.
Dark Red
The sign was white.
Or rather, it should have been white. At night, it was a beacon in the darkness. One of the few places that stayed open 24 hours, George’s was Buffy’s favourite place to stop on her way home from patrolling.
Only a few weeks ago, she would have been stopping here with Angel.
She’d have lingered over selecting a chocolate bar, drawing out her time with her boyfriend. Their eyes would meet and Buffy would blush at the depth of emotion she saw.
Instead, she stared up at the red sign, George’s blood dripping onto the pavement.
*********
Like there wasn’t enough red already, the police cars came screaming up, lights spinning frantically.
She was too far away to hear what the cops were saying. It didn’t matter anyway; their horrified and nauseous expressions were far more eloquent than any words could be.
She watched the cops busily work the scene. She thought that the red strobes made them look more like victims than protectors.
It took hours, but eventually they removed George, packed up their evidence and left.
She shivered once or twice, but she stayed until they turned the sign off and the red was gone.
******************
She didn’t sleep anymore.
Sleep left her vulnerable. Not to Angelus himself, but the dreams he’d inspired with his bloody tour of all their old haunts.
He’d left a dead kitten in her locker. He’d left a dismembered puppy in the library.
He’d left bodies in every cemetery in town, in places where they’d once shared passionate kisses.
He’d left Miss Calendar in Giles’s bed.
Her subconscious had plenty of material to create dreams from, yet she still kept seeing the same thing whenever she closed her eyes: the sign at George’s being slowly covered with blood.
So much red.
Bright Red
Her skin felt tight. Everything itched, but she didn’t dare touch, knowing that would just make it worse.
She felt cold, but if she put her hand near her skin she could feel heat radiating. She tried to convince her parents to let her stay home from school, but got a lecture combining the importance of education and the value of learning from experience.
Her clothes rubbed painfully, but she kept her long sleeves rolled down. She didn’t need to display the full extent of the damage.
“Whoa.” Xander stared. “You’re all red, Willow.”
Willow’s eyes filled. “Worst. Sunburn. Ever.
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Date: 2006-02-16 12:16 am (UTC)