After the case was dissolved, Emily had been sent to an orphanage, because no foster home agreed to take her. Whenever they met with her, Emily's nature and lack of manners completely scared them away.
For two excruciating weeks, Emily endured the harsh reality of the orphanage. The nuns, consumed by their religious beliefs seemed to regard her presence as the work of satan. Her platinum hair and mismatching eyes made them treat her horridly. Their interactions with her were limited to perfunctory tasks performed with distant efficiency. Their faces etched with weariness,they lacked the time or inclination to offer tenderness or any compassion to Emily.
It's not like Emily craved it, or even needed it for that matter. She simply desired to be treated more like another individual, considering the feat she had just performed before her imprisonment in this hell hole of an orphanage.
The orphanage itself was a stark, austere place. It's walls, painted a somber shade of gray, seemed to echo the desolation that resided within. The air was heavy with the scent of incense and stale despair. Long corridors stretched like endless tunnels, lined with closed doors, behind which children sought solace or simply escaped from the reality that confronted them.
Emily's days were a monotonous cycle of isolation and neglect. She would spend countless hours in her small, dimly lit room, the silence only broken by the distant sounds of footsteps and occasional murmur of voices. The bed, with it's thin mattress and faded sheets, offered little comfort. The walls, adorned with crucifixes and religious paintings, provided little solace to a troubled soul seeking connection and understanding.
Her meals were meager consisting of tasteless porridge and stale bread, served without care or consideration, The communal dining hall, a cavernous space with long wooden tables, echoed with the clinking of cutlery and hushed conversations. Emily would sit alone at the edge of the room, her gaze fixed on her plate, as if she were invisible to the world around her.
The other children in the orphanage, sensing Emily's isolation and her troubled nature, kept their distance. They whispered among themselves about her strange behavior, vacant mismatched eyes and her unsettling calmness. They avoided her gaze, afraid to delve into the depths of her troubled soul. Emily derived a little bit of pleasure scaring them, besides it was better for them if the avoided her, rather that pissing her off with their fake communionism.
Her nights were plagued by nightmares, visions of her past that haunted her restless sleep. She would wake up in darkness, drenched in sweat, her heart pounding in her chest. the demons that resided within her seemed to grow stronger, feasting on her despair. The suffocating silence of the orphanage's nights became a breeding ground for her deepest fears and darkest thoughts.
One day another new kid arrived at the orphanage. His name was Daniel. He was around Emily's age, with a mischievous smile and a warmth in his eyes that seemed to penetrate her guarded heart. Their first encounter was marked by hesitency, mostly on his part. Something about her emotionless, mismatched eyes drew him in.
Emily watched as Daniel interacted with other children, his infectious laughter filling the air. The sound reached her ears like a distant melody, a symphony she had long forgotten. Something about him compelled her to take a step forward, he was hard to read. He showed warmth and joy to everyone around him, but Emily, and perhaps only Emily could tell that that it was just a projection. His true emotions hidden by a facade of cheerful expressions on his face.
Eventually he decided to engage in a conversation. At first Emily would completely ignore him, but she finally started to listen when he would share fragments of his past, carefully choosing his words.
Surprisingly their friendship grew, they would spend most of their afternoons exploring the grounds of the orphanage, seeking hidden corners and secret hideouts where they could retreat from the cruelty of the orphanage. In those stolen moments of freedom, Daniel would let his imagination soar, weaving stories of adventure and escape, while she watched him and observed with an awkward smile.
Daniel's kindness and genuine care became some sort of a welcomed inconvenience for Emily. With each passing day, their bond deepened, and Emily found herself tentatively stepping into the realm of trust, allowing herself to believe that perhaps, just perhaps, she was deserving of love and companionship.
But just as Emily had started to believe in the possibility of lasting connection, tragedy struck. Two months after their friendship had blossomed, the day had arrived when Daniel was adopted by a Loving family. The news shattered Emily's fragile world, leaving her feeling abandoned and betrayed once more.
As she watched Daniel prepare to leave, she felt a slight tinge in the depths of her soul, an unexpected emptiness. The void in her heart widened, engulfing her in a storm of rage and resentment. How could they take him away, leaving her in this hell hole all by herself.
Her thoughts were cut off by Daniel, he attempted to give her a hug. but the darkness in her eyes made him reconsider his decision. "I feel just as bad, you'll also get adopted, I'm definitely sure about that." Saying that he stretched his hand towards her face. 'Why does he want to touch me_ Daniel's hand brushed away a tear that slowly made it's way down the skin of her cheeks. "I've never seen you cry before. You're beautiful either way." He said as he carefully caressed her smoothe skin.
With that, Daniel picked up his things and left her to her thoughts. The little tinge twisted within her, fermenting into a toxic brew of anger and desperation. The seeds of vengeance took root, fueled by the belief that she had been forsaken by the very people who were meant to protect and care for her. Her mind became a battleground of conflicting emotions, a storm raging within the confines of her fragile existence.
In the depths of her despair, Emily's mind became a breeding ground for sinister thoughts. She dwelled on the injustices she had suffered, her fury simmering beneath the surface. She meticulously studied the routines and vulnerabilities of the orphanage staff, determined to make them pay for their perceived betrayal.
With a chilling calmness, she plotted their demise, envisioning the perfect scene of chaos and confusion that would ultimately shift suspicion away from herself. The priest in charge of the orphanage, a figure of authority who had turned a blind eye to her suffering, became the primary target of her seething anger. The nuns, complicit in the mistreatment she endured, were not spared from her vengeful intentions.
She studied their patterns, and their weaknesses, gathering the necessary information to execute her plan flawlessly. Late at night, when the orphanage slept, Emily ventured into forbidden territories, mastering the art of silent movement. She observed the routines of the staff, their routines etched into her mind like a map leading to her twisted retribution.
Weeks passed, and the night of reckoning arrived, cloaked in shadows and fueled by Emily's dark determination. With careful precision, she infiltrated the priest's quarters, her steps masked by the thudding of her own heartbeat. Her hands trembled as she held the weapon of her vengeance, a blade glinting in the moonlight.
As the priest slept, oblivious to the impending danger, Emily approached him with a mixture of of cold detachment and smoldering rage. Her hands moved with precise ease, striking swift and decisive blows. The silence of the night were broken by the sound of stifled screams, echoes of pain and terror reverberating through the orphanage's walls.
But Emily's hunger for vengeance was not sated. The nuns, who had neglected and ignored her cries for help, were the next targets of her wrath. She knew their routines, the patterns of their nightly rituals, and she used that knowledge to her advantage. One by one, they fell victim to her merciless fury, their pleas for mercy falling on deaf ears.
In the aftermath, chaos reigned within the orphanage's walls. The scene was meticulously staged, carefully orchestrated to shift blame away from Emily. Evidence pointed to an outsider, an intruder driven by madness and malice. The innocent were made to pay the price for Emily's twisted retribution.
The police had just arrived at the crime scene. The children were scared shitless, sirens blared left and right. Detective Sarah walked into the supposed crime scene. Bodies strung around like rotisserie. Blood was everywhere, her first instinct was to puke, but she barely managed to hold it all together.
"Detective, There's something you need to see" Bryce Johanson said. He led her to a room, probably the priest's chambers. There was only one body there, but the scene was so gruesome, the other ones felt like a mess done by a child in comparison. The priest laid sideways on his bed, his eyes were gouged out and placed inside his mouth. His bowels were cut open, and his innards were strewn all over. The murder weapon, a twelve inch knife was lodged into his head.
"Damn, he sure suffered a lot" Sarah commented.
She looked around the room and noticed something in the priest's hand. 'The fuck is this' she thought. It was a lock of hair. Silver hair to be precise. She immediately knew who had done all this. "Did you find anything" Bryce asked from behind.
"No, no" she replied. As Bryce removed his glasses to wipe his eyes, she took that opportunity to swipe the lock of hair from the corpse's hand. She quickly stashed it in her back pocket. 'What the hell has this girl gotten herself into'
Emily found herself running through the empty street, her hair blowing into the wind. Suddenly, she hears sirens ringing in the distance. With quick thinking and also equally quick feet, she jumped behind two bins. Her heart was racing a million miles a second. 'Who knew the only thing that separates me from judgement would be this bin"
After the cops had passed Emily decided to take a walk around the empty streets by herself. The winds started picking up, swaying her bloodied night dress and making the air a tad bit too cold for Emily. After a while, She found herself at the riverbank. Mesmerized by the currents, she decided to sit and watch it. She was unmoved and unfazed by the darkness around her, in fact she sort of embraced it.
The cold was starting to get unbearable, but she had nowhere to go. The only thing that kept her warm was the dress on her body, and even then it did next to nothing comforting her. Her heart had started to calm down, the reality of her life finally sinking in. She shed two tears, one for the loss of her humanity, and the other for the loos of the only person tying her to it. Maybe she deserved to die in the cold all alone, that's what she deserved isn't it.
She suddenly heard the rusting of leaves, it had a one-two rhythm so she knew what approached her was bipedal, human actually. Then the smell of coffee and damp leaves hit her nose. "Emily, what are you doing here" a familiar voice invaded her ears.
After Sarah left the orphanage she went looking for Emily. At first she noticed that Emily had left a trail of blood as she went, but then the trails seemed to disappear. She searched for a while almost giving up and ended up close to the river. That's when by some miracle she saw Emily sitting there all alone.
"Are you crazy, you could die out here" Sarah wrapped her coat around Emily. The sudden warmth enveloped her like a divine blanket. "No thank you huh?" Sarah said. That's when she noticed Emily's tears. "I want to adopt you" Sarah said.
"You are aware of everything I have done, are you not?. So why the suggestion?" Emily replied.
"I'm well aware, It's just that I totally understand what you're going through". Emily looked Sarah straight in the eye. "You understand do you? please then, explain what you think you know" Emily clapped back. Sarah sighed, "You must feel like you just lost your humanity, and deep down it lingers in your mind that you don't deserve to live" Sarah then looked down. "I'm well aware of how that feels Emily, trust me" Sarah paused, then continued "My real name Isn't Sarah Lawson, It's Alice Mitchel. Nine years ago, I was diagnosed with Split personality disorder after I murdered my parents and two siblings. I was then admitted in a psychiatric institute. The truth is I made the whole split personality thing up, I had planned it for months. Kill my family, pretend I was insane, take some pills, and I'm free"
Emily was now immensely intrigued, she had never thought that such an encounter was possible outside the realm of fiction. "The thing is...I didn't stop, even after I was released from the psych institute"
"What's in it for me?" Emily asked.
"You get a fresh start, Just like I did"