The Hell Flower

The Hell Flower #4

A few hours later, Dahlia and Helen met up right outside the university's main building. Helen bid goodbye to the girl that had been following her, and waited until she was out of sight to sign.

"She talks to me like I'm an i***t," she signed, rolling her eyes. "This semester is going to be long."

"Maybe you can change?"

"She's not bad, she takes good notes. But I miss you. What did they say?" she signed, pointing at the building.

"I can still change," Dahlia answered, signing again the signs she could. "But they suggested I come back to psychology, because I had top grades."

Helen shook her head.

"Take your time thinking," she signed after a while. "First, party time!"

With Sam still stuck at the lab, the two of them had to take the bus home, and as Helen wasn't fond of signing in places full of strangers and gathering attention, they remained quiet until they got home, just answering a couple of texts on the group chat to exchange information with Victoria. Without surprise, Clara wasn't interested, so the three of them were to leave together in a couple of hours, using Victoria's car. Dahlia was glad Victoria would be there, as it meant they could use her car rather than public transportation. Underground spaces made her feel nervous.

They got home, and Helen convinced Dahlia to join her for a yoga session, her favorite activity. Helen's family had raised her with the mindset that she could do anything hearing people did if she wanted to, so she was always keen on trying new activities and doing the same things her friends did. She did have friends in the University Deaf Club, but she refused to let the label stop her. Dahlia only did the yoga class to stay with Helen rather than be alone in her room, but she did enjoy it. Even if it was just for a while, focusing on the movements and trying to stretch her poorly trained body kept her mind away from her troubles. When they were done, they split up to get ready. Dahlia had no idea what to wear, so once again, she relied on the group chat for help.

"Keep the khaki dress; you're cute in it," said Sam. "Just accessorize it."

"Agreed!" Victoria chimed in. "I'm on my way home, babes."

"I'll do your hair!" Helen offered.

She appeared minutes later, looking cute herself in denim overalls and an off-shoulder flowery top, her long black hair wrapped up in a towel. She pushed Dahlia in front of the mirror and had her sit down, quite happy to use the mirror to still see each other's lips. She grabbed the comb and curling iron, and got started on taming Dahlia's hair. Forced to face her reflection, Dahlia did notice she looked a bit better after spending some time outside. Her complexion was a bit warmer, her cheeks had some color and her light freckles had reappeared. She reapplied some concealer and put on brown eyeliner, hoping to make her green eyes pop out a bit more. When she was about to put on her usual pink lip balm, Helen made a sound to get her attention and frowned in the mirror.

"What?"

She left the room, leaving Dahlia confused, and reappeared seconds later to offer her a brick-red lipstick instead. Dahlia noticed the luxury brand and asked her about it.

"Victoria's," Helen signed energetically. "It was a gift, but she doesn't like it. Try it!"

Dahlia was a bit dubious about the aggressive color, but she trusted Helen's tastes. She put it on, and to her surprise, it did look great on her lips. It was a huge change from her usual shy tastes, but it didn't look bad or too much at all. The matte brick color made the combination of her warm skin tone, her khaki dress, green eyes and light blond hair work perfectly together. Helen clapped her hands together, visibly happy with it too.

"Keep it," she signed, pushing Dahlia's hand that was holding the lipstick.

Dahlia nodded and did the sign to thank her, although she'd also have to thank Victoria later. Just then, they heard her get back home, and less than a minute later, she found them.

"Look at you both!" she exclaimed, signing excitedly. "You look gorgeous! Alright, give me ten minutes to get ready, and we're on our way!"

Exactly ten minutes later, Victoria was ready in sexy brown leather pants and a white crop top that showed her perfect form. She had changed her earrings to big shiny silver ones and was wearing small tinted sunglasses. She was already tall, but she had put on high heels that had her towering a head above the other two.

"That lipstick looks gorgeous on you Lia," she noted, squeezing her purse into a tiny bag. "Come on kittens, let's go."

Victoria's car was more comfortable and spacious than Sam's old Toyota, and this time, Dahlia sat in the back. From there, she could see Vic put her hand regularly on Helen's knee, making her smile. Her friends had met at an earlier party of that same LGBT+ student’s club they were headed to, and fallen for each other right there. Victoria being the most assertive person she knew, it hadn't taken long before Helen and her had become an official campus couple. Dahlia had been anxious to meet Victoria, who was outgoing and popular around campus, almost a local celebrity. Still, once they had met, Victoria had decided Dahlia would be her friend and had never treated her like she was crazy. She was the type to be stubbornly loyal to her friends, through thick and thin, and although she did know about Dahlia's nightmares, anxiety and at times, strange reactions, she had never voiced any negative feelings towards her. On the contrary, she protected Dahlia without questioning her just like Sam did, just like any of them would step up when somebody annoyed Helen.

They didn't chat during the ride, as Victoria had put on some music and was singing and mildly dancing to it, beating the rhythm gently on Helen's leg, who danced along. Dahlia didn't feel like joining in; she stared at the passing streets, feeling the nervousness build up. She wasn't sure she was ready to find herself in a crowd again. She only felt safe at home, with her flatmates who didn't judge her. Outside, exposed to others' looks, she always felt uncomfortable. She had to be careful about spouting nonsense, ignore her ominous feelings about this or that person, and at times, act like she wasn't hearing voices. The music could never be loud enough to cover the voices, which made it almost worse. She tried to at least convince herself she'd be okay with Victoria and Helen. Her friends were her safety net.

They arrived in front of a typical British bar, with a couple of LGBT+ flags proudly hung at the front. Victoria parked her car, and the girls stepped out, Dahlia trying to swallow her nervousness. Helen, attentive as always, smiled at her and put her arm around hers.

"All fun," she signed with a warm smile.

Dahlia nodded, hoping she looked convinced. Victoria had walked ahead of them to hug the bouncer, a massive guy with a huge beard and a denim sleeveless jacket.

"Here comes the baddest!" he exclaimed, visibly overjoyed to see her. "Come to have some fun, Vic?"

"You know me," she smiled. "We have a plus one, is that cool?"

"All allies welcome," he nodded, smiling at Dahlia. "Hi, Helen, sweetie. Keep an eye on that bad girl for me, will ya?"

Helen smiled and gave him a hug, then stepped aside to let Dahlia greet him.

"Hi, I'm Dahlia."

"Pretty flower," he nodded. "I'm Mac. Come to me if you're in any trouble darling, alright?"

"Thanks."

"Have fun ladies!"

And just like that, they walked into the crowded pub. The music was already loud, and the bar absolutely crowded with people shouting their orders.

"First round's on me," said Victoria, turning to them and shouting as she signed. "What do you want?"

Helen signed her reply, and Dahlia shrugged.

"Same as Helen," she said, too overwhelmed by the sudden crowd to choose.

She and Helen had the same tastes, so she relied on that. Victoria nodded and disappeared in the blink of an eye, her height a big advantage in that crowd. Meanwhile, Helen pressed her arm, looking worried.

"You OK?"

"Yeah," Dahlia lied.

She wasn't. The place was very noisy, and so crowded they could only tiptoe against the walls to not be hit by the people dancing wildly. She made sure to hold Helen's hand, worried about losing her. Her friend looked happy in the crowd, effortlessly moving, even dancing around. Helen had never heard music, but she enjoyed it nevertheless. Her older brother had sneaked her into heavy metal concerts when she was younger, and her favorite thing to do was to put her hand on the amplifiers and lip-read the singers' mouth. She'd even study the lyrics ahead of the concerts and make her own translations in sign language. There was no singer here, but she could get a sense of the music by watching others, and sure enough, she soon found one of the speakers to put her hand on it.

"No touching the- Oh, Helen! Hi babe!" One of the guys there high-fived her, before nodding at Dahlia with a smile.

Helen was well-known in the club, so no one would bother them there. She kept beating her head, and they waited for Victoria to return. The loud EDM music wasn't to Dahlia's tastes, but she was trying to focus on it rather than the whisper that had picked up again. It was like having someone over her shoulder, whispering in her ear. She glanced back several times, only to find the wall, covered in posters. She glanced at Helen to reassure herself, but her friend had found a friend from the Deaf community, and they had begun chatting. Dahlia didn't mind, and stood a couple of steps away, focusing on the crowd instead. At least the place was brightly lit and full of people. No darkness here. Only that strange, creeping whisper... She felt like she was watching the whole scene from behind a screen, like they were on a stage and she was alone in the stalls. The place clearly should have been warm, a crowded place full of dancing bodies in the middle of summer heat, but she was feeling cold. She pulled her cardigan a bit tighter over her shoulders.

"Dahlia!"

Victoria's sudden appearance made her jump a bit. Her friend gave her a concerned look.

"You okay?" she bellowed above the noise. "Here."

She had taken a little tray to carry their beers and her usual gin and tonic. Dahlia nodded, and grabbed her beer, taking a gulp of the foam and golden drink, and the light alcohol nicely warmed her up. Helen was already happily drinking hers, but she soon put it aside to introduce Victoria to her friend. Then, she pulled Dahlia to include her too, and Victoria translated for her.

"His name is Connor, and he... Yeah, he's saying he feels like he's seen you before. She gets that every time," Victoria answered, shouting and signing.

"I have one of those faces," Dahlia smiled awkwardly, pointing at her face.

Connor frowned, visibly surprised, but let it go. Another strange thing... Victoria wasn't lying. Almost anytime Dahlia met someone new, they had a sense of having met her before. She'd learned to ignore it, although it felt stranger every time. She was almost relieved in the cases it didn't happen, or people didn't bring it up. Suddenly, it made her feel even more awkward. She didn't feel at ease staying there. She felt stuffed, a bit out of breath, her fingertips tingling.

"Vic, I need some air," she said, touching her friend's forearm.

"You OK?" Victoria frowned.

"Yeah, it's just too hot in here. I'll just step out for a minute."

"You can go out the back with your drink," she nodded, pointing in a random direction behind them. "I'll join you in a second."

Dahlia nodded, and didn't waste another second to get out of there. She tried to walk as normally as possible, instead of running, despite the growing discomfort in her chest, the trouble she had breathing. After a minute, she found the emergency exit, someone had held it open with a stone. She emerged in the street, suddenly feeling much better in the open space. A couple of girls smoking gave her a glance, but she just nodded and took a couple of steps away, showing she wanted to be left alone.

It was a narrow back street, just a dead-end with several parking spots for the staff and two garbage bins. Dahlia took a few seconds to breathe again, taking deep inhales and exhales, touching the stone wall with her hands.

"You okay, love?" one of the girls asked.

"Y-yeah, I just... Not fond of crowds," she managed to mumble. "Thanks."

They seemed satisfied with her answer, although she could feel their eyes on her. She pretended she didn't and focused on breathing, combing her hair back, and taking another gulp of the cold beer. She put her glass on a window sill and took a few steps on the asphalt. She was fine. She was safe. Nothing could harm her here... She tried to convince herself until her gaze drifted to the bins again. That's when she felt it. That hollow, immaterial pull, like something, or someone, was calling her. Those shadows. Dahlia tried to ignore it. She knew she shouldn't listen. But it was like being called, repeatedly, and resisting the urge to know why.

"Don't," she muttered to herself, closing her eyes.

But shutting her eyes made it worse. She reopened them, glaring at the darkness that surrounded the bin. She knew only she could see that darkness, those strange shadows, and she hated it.

"You alright?" the girls called her again.

Dahlia made her decision in a split second. She gave up and walked towards the bin. She opened it, and started looking through the bags.

"Dahlia?" Victoria's voice called her.

"You know that girl, Vic?"

"Why the hell is she going through the trash..."

Dahlia could hear them, but she didn't listen. Instead, she was feeling her heartbeat going loud in her ears, and the darkness surrounding her, narrowing her vision as she was pushing the bags left and right. She had to find it. It was in there, calling for her. Ignoring how crazy she probably looked right then, she started taking the bags out, frustrated. Was it at the bottom? She hurried up, her upper body now fully bent over the bin. Quick, she had to find it...

"Dahlia?" Victoria called her. "Talk to me. What's up? What's going on?"

There! She pulled out the black bag, out of breath, her heart beating madly. Victoria stood next to her, without saying anything, while Dahlia was fighting to open that thing.

"Here, use my key," Victoria said. "Why are we opening a- Oh, s**t!"

With the key ripping through the plastic, the bag's content was revealed. Dahlia heard a loud gasp, and realized Helen had also come out of the bar to find her. Now, her two friends were in shock next to her. Dahlia emptied the bag, pulling the black plastic to gently take out the body of a dead, skinny cat. The two girls smoking earlier had also approached, curious, and were now stunned.

"Oh, my God!"

"Poor kitty! What kind of people did this..."

Next to her, Helen crouched down, with a sad expression on, and petted the poor cat. She looked on the verge of crying. Dahlia, on the other hand, found herself strangely calm now that she'd found it. The darkness and voices had gone. Behind her, Victoria let out a whistle.

"Dahlia... How the hell did you know that poor cat was in there?"

"I... I don't know," Dahlia admitted.

"Well, it's too bad you found it too late. Let's just bury it somewhere. Poor thing. Look at the bag, he tried to escape... Whoever did this deserves to die a painful death. I hope Karma gets them."

Dahlia nodded, but something was bothering her from Victoria's sentence. She had never hoped to find it alive... yet she didn't have that feeling of having found that cat too late at all. She stared at the poor cat's body, and all she could feel was relief. Relief that they'd be able to bury it. She didn't tell the others.