//------------------------------// // 04.1 Dead Girls Walking // Story: We Killed the Dinosaurs // by Distaff Pope //------------------------------// I stared up at the night sky, stars fading as grey crept in from the east, my fingers running through Starlight’s hair. “That was…” My hand drifted to the croquet mallet that turned into a prop at some point during the night. I tilted to my head up to see Starlight’s head rising and falling with my breaths. “Yeah,” Starlight agreed, not needing to hear the end. How long until her parents woke up? Time to move. “I should probably head home,” I said, gently lifting her off me and sitting up, looking for any signs of my clothes in the dark. “Sun’s going to rise soon, and I don’t think your parents are going to be super thrilled if they see this.” “No, stay.” Starlight wrapped her arms around me, pulling me back to the ground. “We can clean this up, move to my room, and my parents will never know. You’re not going anywhere until Monday.” Well… I looked at her, then thought about the boxes of unpacked junk still in my room, and my dad. “You don’t have to convince me,” I said, lying back down. “Just, in about two hours, I’m pretty sure your parents are going to get around to looking at your backyard.” Honestly, it was a small miracle they hadn’t woken up already, but why complain when life breaks your way. “I know,” she said, getting up on all fours and crawling towards her top. “So we won’t stay out here, but I do have a bedroom, and it’s not like my parents just burst in without knocking.” Lucky her. “Besides, they’ll probably just be happy I’m hanging out with friends who aren’t the Flowers, and why would anyone have a problem with a chaste, friendly sleepover?” Even in the dark, I could see her winking at me. “Ok,” I said, standing up and grabbing the duster which had been doubling as our blanket up until a few seconds ago. Now where the hell did my jeans go? I checked near the gate. My shoes were a few paces off the path and… There! Something that looked like denim in the bushes. I walked over, plucking my pants free and wiggling them back on. Next up, shirt and bra, and… shit, I can’t believe I forgot it. “Looking for this?” Starlight asked, calling me back to where she sat, pinching my underwear and holding them up. I picked my bra up off the ground and really gave it a good look. It had been lying on the grass, did I really want to put that back on or just stick with my shirt and pants until I got back home? “Just put it in my bag.” I pointed, tossing the other garment at her as I grabbed my shirt and slid it back on. “Sure,” she said, grabbing the bag from next to her. How had it stayed so close to us while my bra went all the way… Didn’t matter. I watched as she unzipped my bag and then stopped. “What’s this?” she asked, pulling the box out. Right, the second most dramatic thing from yesterday. "And what's that thing on the lid? Looks like some sort of chimera, but not a popular one." “No idea.” I rejoined Starlight and sat on the ground next to her. “When you went to the bathroom at the Canterhorn, some chick I’d never seen before came up to me, thought she knew me, and then asked me to take the box while she distracted someone.” I shrugged. “Been meaning to check it out.” “Wait,” Starlight said, rubbing her head. “You just took a package from a stranger? What if it’s something important? What if it’s someone’s medicine?” “Then hopefully, they’ve got a doctor who can prescribe them more,” I said. “Look, someone runs up to you, leaves in their hair, shouting your name, and they tell you to take a box while they go back and distract ‘them,’ are you really going to get into a debate about it or just end the conversation ASAP?” “Maybe.” She stood up, dressed enough for us to sneak back in the house, the clothes she didn’t put back on now draped over the box. “So, are we going to open it?” “Obviously,” I said, getting up and following her to the patio door. “I planned on opening it up by myself and–” She turned back to shush me. Right. We crept through the house, Starlight cringing with every creak of a floorboard as we climbed the stairs heading towards what I could only assume was her room. We reached a door. “Promise not to laugh?” Starlight asked, voice low. “Promise,” I said. How bad could her room be? Probably a bunch of stuffed animals and posters for some boy bands. Basic suburban girl shit. “Just between you and me, I have a stuffed animal that my mom gave me that’s one of the few things I make sure I pack every move.” Starlight smiled. “Thanks, but that’s… just see for yourself.” She opened the door and holy shit. Even in the dark, I could see the black wallpaper running floor to ceiling only broken up by posters with skulls and people with long, black hair and brooding looks. Awesome. “Oh shit, this is so cool,” I said, entering the room and closing the door behind me. Holy crap, did she have a skull guitar hanging from the wall? “Sorry, but this.” I pointed at her in mostly a skirt and blazer. “And this. I definitely didn’t see this coming.” “I went through a dark phase in middle school,” she said, sitting on her bed, tossing the clothes she’d stacked on the box off into a convenient pile. “And most of high school. The Flowers have never seen my room, if they did…” She stopped “I guess it wouldn’t matter now.” Ok, maybe she was a bit of a poser, but it was still cooler than the Flowers. I stood up, moving to her closet, and found a black corset dress and way more t-shirts than Rose would ever allow. “I would do some dark shit to see you in some of these outfits,” I said, turning back to her. Starlight leaned against the wall, stroking my box. “We can arrange that, but first, do you want to crack this open?” “I’ll give you the honor,” I said, sitting on her bed next to her. She smiled, unlatching the clasp and opening the box, and the smile stopped. She twisted the box so I could see, turning on the lights as she did. The box held a polaroid camera with a little pamphlet next to it. Presumably, an instruction manual for the five people who’d never seen a camera before. I picked it up and turned it over to see Memory Saver on the side, red and in all caps. “Huh,” I said. “Guess I shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up,” Starlight said, taking the camera from me. “I don’t even know what I expected.” Maybe a cursed amulet or stone tablet. Something more than just a camera.” Or drugs. People run out to you in the middle of the forest screaming about distracting someone and shoving a box in your face, it’s probably drugs. “Well, it’s kind of retro,” I said, taking my duster off. “Come on, take a photo of me.” “Alright, strike a pose,” she said. I stood up. What to do? I mimed holding a pistol and pointed it out of frame. Which, ugh, as soon as I did it felt dumb. Still, Starlight laughed, the camera flashed, and everything went white. No, like, everything went white. I rubbed my eyes, blinking a few times. What the fuck? I stood in the middle of a white void and– “What the fuck?” My stomach squeezed, bile rising up in my throat as my breathing quickened, faster and faster. Get a hold of yourself. “Ok, ok,” I said, looking around and fighting through the fear, taking a few deep breaths to steady myself. Ok. Starlight took the photo and then I found myself here. So, what were my options? Most likely option, I had a stroke or something and was dead or in a coma, and this was purgatory or just my own mind. “No, my mind’s not that empty.” But if it was purgatory? Maybe I’d get to see mom again. Alternatively? My entire understanding of the world was a lie, magic existed, and I had a camera that could imprison people? But what the hell? People didn’t just stumble across magic artifacts. “But here I am.” Fair. Hard to be incredulous when you’ve got the evidence all around you. “So, assuming we’re not dead and in purgatory, how’re we getting out of here?” I crossed my arms and started walking forward. Moving, at least, was something. Maybe my prison had boundaries. “Ok, Sunset, you might be here for a while, so time to figure out ground rules.” Mainly, could I die here? I held my breath and waited. And waited. And waited. And I felt fine. Cool, I exhaled air that didn’t exist, getting a little more used to my temporary (hopefully?) home. So, I could stay here indefinitely and be fine, which… points for purgatory, I guess. Up ahead, a sliver of color revealing Starlight’s bedroom. So, yeah, not purgatory. I sprinted towards it, and as I ran more and more of the white unravelled, threads of white unspooling as the color outside my temporary prison expanded, more and more of her bedroom becoming visible. I stood on the edge, looking as the threads of nothing ripped away. I did what anyone does standing over an unknown precipice. I jumped. “It worked,” Starlight said as I stumbled forward, bracing myself on a bedpost back in the real world. I looked behind me to see her standing, holding my photo, torn slightly, in one hand and the instructions in the other. A second later, her arms wrapped around me and her head was buried in my duster. “You don’t know how scared I was that I lost you.” “How’d you get me out?” I asked, stroking her hair and back. “The instructions, they said if I wanted to stop saving a memory, I needed to rip the photo so the border was broken but not completely in half.” I looked at her bed, seeing the camera resting on a pillow. “I can’t believe we have a magic camera. I can’t believe magic is real.” “Yeah, it’s a little heavy,” I said, looking at the camera, studying it, thinking about it’s potential. “But it’s fine, I’m here, we’re safe, and look, the sun isn’t even up yet.” I yawned, exhaustion creeping up on me now that I was out. And had a physical body. “And maybe we can use the camera for something good.” “Like what?” Starlight asked, joining me in looking at the camera. “I don’t know,” I lied. Yeah, lying to my girlfriend, great move. “But we have to have it for a reason. Think about it, the day after we met, on our first date, we get this.” The same day you burn bridges with your best friend. “I don’t believe in coincidences, Starlight. We met for a reason, we got this camera for a reason.” I kissed her forehead. “We’re going to do something great together, Starlight.” Starlight smiled, looking at the camera before pushing me down on the bed. “You’re a real sweetalker, aren’t you?” she asked. I shrugged as she took my duster off me, not missing what she was saying. “Just telling the truth,” I said, pulling her down onto the bed with me. “Because, Starlight, the two of us? That’s fate, and you don’t have to be a genius to see that.” She kissed me. I kissed back. The camera could wait until after. *** I woke up to Starlight screaming, my arm damp with her cold sweat. “It’s alright,” I whispered into her ear. “You’re here. With me.” The screaming stopped, and she turned back to look at me, eyes wide. “We need to talk to Rose,” she said. Outside her room, I heard footsteps coming towards us and hopped out of bed, locking the door and leaning against it. “Starlight,” her mom (presumably) asked. “Are you alright, sweetie?” I heard her try the handle. “Yeah, I’m fine,” she said, sitting up and looking at me. “I just had a bad dream, that’s all.” “Alright,” Starlight’s mom said. She stopped trying the handle. “Do you want to talk about it? Your father and I are here for you.” “No.” She rolled her eyes. “I can’t even remember what it’s about, now. I think I’m just going to lay down a little bit.” “Oh, well, whatever you think is best, dear.” Footsteps moved away and we both exhaled, and Starlight patted the bed next to her for me. I sat down. “So, you want to talk about it?” I asked, looking at her and the camera resting on the nightstand. “What’s there to talk about?” She shrugged. “We’re both screwed unless I apologize to Rose.” “You said last night, you didn’t care about that, that you were fine with it being us against the world.” What good would her talking to Rose accomplish? Unless… My eyes flicked away from her for a second to the camera. Starlight sighed, looking at the door. “That was a beautiful dream,” Starlight said. “But Rose rules Westercolt with an iron fist. There’s no way we’re surviving to June without doing at least something to placate her, and if that means we both beg, we both beg.” She narrowed her eyes. “Are you with me?” God help me, how could I say no to that face? “Always. But do you think I can borrow a few of your clothes before we go?” *** I dressed almost entirely in black, in one of Starlight’s old torn T’s that fit way to well to have been purchased in middle school. My bag bumped against my side, camera ensconced inside, the last thing I grabbed from Starlight’s house before sneaking out the back window while she kept her parents distracted. Now, I stood in the foyer of the most ostentatious McMansion I’d ever seen, with a heraldic symbol of a gold rose hanging from the wall. “Are you sure she’s here?” I asked. “Trust me,” Starlight said, leading me into the kitchen and the stairs up. “She skips her Saturday visit to her grandma’s even when she’s not hungover. Rose!” She shouted the last word. “Rose?” “What is it?” she shouted, voice coming from upstairs. “We came to apologize, Rose.” Starlight stood at the base of the stairs, looking up, I leaned against the kitchen counter. Someone had left a thing bottle of Drano out on the counter like it was a pitcher of tea. “Make me a prairie oyster and I’ll think about it,” she said. I looked back at the bottle. Interesting idea, but I already had the camera. Anything more was overkill. “A prairie oyster,” Starlight said, joining me in the kitchen proper. “That’s an egg, pepper, what else?” She snapped her fingers, trying to recall the missing ingredients. “Tomato juice, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and salt,” I said. She looked at me for a second before opening the fridge. “Don’t act too surprised, I’ve been giving my dad hangovers and curing them since I was ten.” Mostly mixing drinks on request, because what girl didn’t dream of her dad shouting at her to make a Jack and Coke and shouting even louder if it wasn’t perfect? Starlight went rummaging through the kitchen, looking for what she wanted, while I had what she needed resting safe inside my bag. Starlight needed Rose out of her life. The only reason we were here was because she freaked about fallout. She needed to be free of Flowers, she just didn’t know the fight to get there. Lucky for her, her girlfriend grew up fighting. “You’re not going to make some joke about that Drano over there? You know, like, ‘maybe we should pour her a glass of this. It would kill her, thus ending her hangover,’” Starlight asked. I smiled, arm resting easily over my bag. “That’s a little morbid, isn’t it?” I picked up the Drano. “Do you want me to pour her ‘Sunset’s 100% Patented Hangover Cure?’” Starlight laughed, cracking the egg hard into the glass. “No, we’re not murdering my friend just because she’s a bitch.” She stopped, adding an amount of Worcestershire and hot sauce. It might even be a decent amount. “Lots of people are assholes. Should we get rid of them, too?” “Interesting proposal,” I said, feeling my bag. “Making the world better one jerk at a time. But that’s up to you, I’m just here for moral support.” She finished the drink and walked up to me. “And I appreciate it.” We kissed, one arm wrapping around my waist, the other holding onto her drink. “Now let’s go give Rose some hair of the dog.” *** “What is she doing here?” Rose asked, the two of us standing in front of her. I rolled my eyes. “We came to apologize, Rose,” Starlight said. “And she’s here because I want her to be.” And to knock off the Wicked Witch. “I want to patch things up between us, but you can’t control who I see.” “Well, if you’re going to beg, get it over with.” She waved a hand dismissive as Starlight offered out the drink. My hand drifted into the bag, feeling the outline of what I needed. Rose grabbed the drink. “And I hope you brought kneepads.” Starlight balked. “You can’t be serious.” Rose stared, dead serious. About to be just dead. Or close enough to it, anyways. The moment stretched on, Starlight shuffling, about to lower herself down. Fuck it. “Hey, Rose,” I said. “What?” She looked at me, Starlight forgotten for a second as I pulled the camera out of my bag, and I got to see sweet comprehension run across Starlight’s face. “Say cheese.” The camera flashed and her glass shattered on the floor, prairie oyster spreading across the glass coffee table. Rose was gone. Ding dong ding. For a long second, the only sound was me shaking the polaroid, watching for any signs of development. Starlight broke the silence. “Sunset, what the fuck have you done?” “Uhmm, saved your ass. You’re welcome, by the way.” She stared at me for more of an explanation. “She’s not dead. She’s not going to die in there, so we can sit on her for as long as we want, and then when we’re about to graduate, we pop her back out. Plus…” I trailed off to see if she could finish the thought. “If she goes missing, no one should be talking about us Monday morning.” Fast learner. Definitely earning some of that genius cred today. A copy of The Bell Jar sat on the coffee table, absorbing broken yolk. “Especially if we write a note.” She looked from the book to me, I looked at the photo, I could see the first traces of Red in the photo. “A suicide letter?” “We don’t have the body for that,” I said. A few pieces of paper were on her desk. “But Rose, overcome with a myriad of regrets for all her misdeeds, she decides to run away, and leaves a note saying how awful she feels for everything she’s done. It’s terrible, it’s tragic, and it’s all anyone’s going to be talking about for a week.” Starlight stepped up, moving to the desk. “I knew about pain, I knew about loss.” She looked back at me. “Something like that?” She shook her head. “But we can’t do this. We should just let her go.” “Yeah, because she wasn’t pissed off enough at us before. Now that we imprisoned her with a magic camera, I’m sure she’ll be way more reasonable. Look, it only has to be for a few weeks. She goes away, we write her letter where she’s so sorry for everything she’s done, and I bet you know some real horrid shit she’s done, right?” “I faked the notes,” Starlight confirmed. “So admit to those things, make up some other ones, then when we release her in a few weeks, she’s a nobody. The queen bee cracked and the whole school got to see behind the curtain.” And hopefully, the other Flowers wouldn’t be stupid enough to try and bring up the not-magic photograph. Starlight sat at the desk, grabbing a pin and tapping it. “And it’s not like anyone’s going to believe her,” she said. “We trapped her in a photograph? Even I’m having a hard time believing it.” I could imagine her chewing her cheek, thinking over all the options. And it’s not like we were killing anybody. I walked up behind her and hugged her, wrapping my arms around her neck as I whispered the clincher in her ear. “And with her gone, there’s nothing that can get in the way of us being together. Now, what would she write?” For a second, neither of us moved as I waited to see what she’d do. Then, she decided, writing the first lines of Rose’s goodbye. “Dear world, believe it or not, I knew about fear, I knew the way loneliness stung.” “That’s good.” And it was. A couple more faces flashed in my mind. And if we were smart, it could be even better.