The Black Rose 9

                                                                           Chapter 9

DI York closed the door behind her. The florist confirmed her suspicion. She decided to walk while DS Scott drove in the light rain. Her dark blonde hair grew limper and wetter. Thoughts raced through her mind. When she got to the hospital's entrance, she rang her hair out. Scott was already there with two cups of steaming hot coffee. What a saviour. 

When they entered the familiar room, the bed they sought out was empty. A nurse was folding a blanket on top of the bed. 

"Nurse...," she sipped her coffee. 

"Verity," she smiled.

"Right, Nurse Verity, where is this patient?"

"She left."

The detectives looked at each other.

"Come on Scott, your car, right now."

The car sped towards Jane's flat in the centre of Brighton. Three loud bangs brought out her neighbours. DS Scott kicked at the door. It opened wide. A cold draft fluttered a few black petals from the floor to the open living room window.

The Black Rose 8

                                                                         Chapter 8

Unsolved Mysteries flashed up on the screen. Lizzie pressed next with a greasy finger. Popcorn spilt all over the floor as she reached over towards a bottle of red wine.

Keith, her black labrador jumped up on the table and knocked the bottle over. Luckily, most of it landed on her clothes. He sniffed at the small drops of wine staining the carpet.

"Keith! Look at what you've done!"

She stripped her clothes off and threw them into the washing machine. In the bedroom, she pulled on a pair of black leggings and a purple t-shirt with the word witch on it. 

In the kitchen, she grabbed a bottle of chocolate milk before settling down on the sofa.

Two episodes in, a knock on the door made her jump. Looking into the spy hole, she saw a detective's badge shoved up against the door. She opened the door a crack. DI York looked concerned. 

"Elizabeth Green?"

"Lizzie."

"Lizzie, can we come in?"

She eyed then up carefully before opening the door wide. DS Scott sneezed as he approached Keith. 

"Sorry, I'm allergic," he sniffed. 

"What's this about?"

Lizzie scooted across the sofa. DI York sat next to her.

"I'm sure you understand what happened to your friends."

Keith whined and rolled over to his side.

"How could I not?"

She wiped away a tear. DS Scott added in.

"We were concerned for your safety," he sneezed again.

"I'm glad you thought of me."

She turned to Keith when he started throwing up. 

"Keith? Are you alright?" 

Lying down next to him, she stroked him.

DI York noticed the bottle of wine.

"Lizzie, is this a recent bottle of wine?"

"No, it was from Amy's birthday party."

York sniffed at the bottle. A faint smell of almonds pulled her away from it.

"Did you drink any of it?"

She looked around for a bag. In the cupboard next to oven, she pulled open two freezer bags. 

"No, Keith jumped on the table and knocked it all over me."

Lizzie started cleaning up the vomit. DS York placed the bottle in one bag and the vomit tissues in the other. 

"Where are your clothes?"

York looked around the room and noticed Keith weezing. 

"What's wrong with him?"

She bent down and sniffed his breath.

"They're in the washing machine. He licked a drop of wine on the carpet. What are you doing?"

Lizzie sat up and crossed her legs. 

"I think you need to take him to the vet right now!"

Keith vomited again and his eyes rolled up into his head.

"Keith!"

The Seer 7

                Chapter 7

Tom vomited for the third time that day. The sickness spread so fast. There was barely any time left to bury the kids before the next one died. 

Jeffrey dug the graves while the rest of the adults buried the dead. Jade and Art locked the rest of the healthy kids in their rooms.

Opal, Jane, the boy and his dog stopped dead in their tracks. Annie ran to them. 

"It spread so fast! Don't come in!"

Opal grabbed her arm when she tried to go back inside.

"Wait, Annie. Stay with us. Where's Jeffery?"

She turned towards his figure digging and digging and digging. Opal closed her eyes. She took a deep breath. 

"It's time for the property to fulfill it's self."

The Black Rose 7

                                                               Chapter 7

Amelia's husband and their two children were silent at what DI York has told them.

"Poison? But who would do that?"

DI York swallowed back the dregs of her coffee cup. 

"Yes, Mr Moore. The coroner confirmed it."

He sobbed into his hands, comforted by his kids.

DS Scott barged in. He pulled DI York up to her feet.

"We've got another one."

In the chaos of the hospital, Jane was unconscious in a bed in A&E. Nurses and doctors rushed around her. One of the nurses shouted, "she's breathing!"

The chaos died down and she was wheeled into a room with three other patients. 

Life After Lockdown

   In the thick of a fire, it's hard to see a way out. The smoke obscures our vision. The heat pushing the walls in. The flames lick at our skin, singing eyebrows and choking the life out of us. On this blue planet, life carries on no matter what happens. We keep spinning in the vast realm of space. Infinite. Seamless. It seems as humans, we're so used to going back to the way things were after a tragedy. Maybe that's a way life keeps us going in the comfort of what is so familiar. 

   COVID-19 has changed our lives forever. Lockdown has made me look at my life with a microscope. It made the most important things in my life, the things that I love to do, the things that wake me up at 2:00 AM to write down ideas for the book I'm writing stand out like a big bright lit up sign that says, 'TURN LEFT HERE!' and  'FOCUS ON WHAT YOU LOVE DOING.' The urge to write feels like a seduction. A strong urge to write poetry, short stories and books. 

   Living through a pandemic feels so unbelievable. It's horrific and almost apocalyptic. As lockdown eases, it feels hopeful. Shops and restaurants are opening back up. The summer haze makes it seem like it's over. When I see people traveling abroad, it makes me think of how the virus might be travelling from place to place, how people are still getting sick and they are still dying. It's like little fires starting at random and before you know it, a giant flame sweeps through like a bad nightmare. Talking about nightmares, yes, they were back. 

   The tragedy of people losing their jobs, shops closing, violence and looting during lockdown and now as things ease up feels like a sinking ship with her passenger aboard. The anti-racism rallies that started in America and swept through most of the cities in the world is a spark of hope after the unjust violence from the police. 

   As I'm coming out of furlough, going back to work next week feels good. I'm grateful that I still have my job. At the same time, my heart hurts at the amount of people who have lost their jobs. Things can never be the same, however it may seem. Going forward, I do hope the world changes for the better as the pandemic dies off. 

Take care, be safe and wash your hands,

Wonder Woman XXX