The Cheery, Cherry Murders

Ariana Torres stood at a three-car crash site and laughed loudly. Mascara ran down her cheeks and lipstick was smeared across her face. What caused her to lose her mind? People and medical staff were rushing to the scene and she just watched with a crooked smile. Her jeans were covered in blood, but not her own. The neon tank top she once picked out to stand out, was torn and shredded. It now drew attention for a different reason. She looked like she went through a war. Ariana took out a cigarette and lighter from her pocket and lit up. This is exactly what she wanted to happen that day.

Four weeks before the car crash, Ariana was working at Porscha’s Cosmetic store on 5th street in New York City. She had always dreamed of living in a Brownstone, but New York is very expensive. She found herself working multiple jobs trying to make it in the big apple. She toyed with the idea of a roommate, but she didn’t want to live with a stranger. Her dreams of working as a makeup artist were fading.

While working the counter one day, a beautiful woman approached her. Her name was Elly and she was mid 20’s with golden hair and sapphire eyes. Ariana was the opposite of her in every way, except beauty. Her eyes were dark and her hair was midnight.

“Can you give me a makeover so I can look like another person?” Elly jokingly asked her.

“Of course, but why would you want to do that?” Ariana questioned.

“I just need a change. Do you know what I mean?” Elly sat down in the chair and put her hands behind her head.

The two talked about life and all the mistakes they made along the way. They seemed to be instant friends and found it easy to talk to each other. Elly told her of how she was staying on a friend’s sofa after a falling out in a bad relationship. Ariana then offered Elly to stay with her at the apartment. She had one bedroom, but a bed in the living room could work as well. She never had visitors because her family lived far way. Elly graciously accepted and thanked her over and over again.

Elly stayed for a few weeks. She told Ariana should be away for some time, but didn’t say how long. She seemed a little afraid. She changed her hair and makeup weekly. Ariana didn’t know what her job was, but money didn’t seem to be an issue. She wasn’t sure why she didn’t get her own place, but she figured Ell didn’t like to be alone. This worked for Ariana because she didn’t either.

On a rainy Tuesday, Ariana received a suspicious package wrapped in brown paper. There was no address or label. There was a small stain on the side that resembled oxidized blood. She stared at it for a long time. She wasn’t in the business of opening other people’s mail, but Elly didn’t give out her address. Ariana usually only received bills and packages from her parents. This wasn’t one of them.

Ariana circled the package a few times trying to figure out what could be inside. She grabbed her wine glass and downed it. She had an eerie feeling this was a dangerous package. She braced herself and slowly untied the white string. The bloody fingerprints should have made her alert the police, but she did not. She had to know what was inside.

She lifted the lid and held her breathe. The box only had two items: a cherry printed postcard with numbers, random letters, and a signature on the bottom and a small flash drive.

“Meet me here – Elly”.

Ariana was confused and read the letter over and over again. It didn’t make any sense to her. Why would Elly give her a strange letter in a package with a blood trail? What did this mean? Where was she telling her to meet her and why? She laid down on the floor staring at the letter. She remembered a conversation the two exchanged when they first met. Elly told Ariana her father used to leave her coordinates for treasure maps. This was a plot to find her.

She typed the coordinates into the internet and an address came up. She screamed in excitement and wrote down the address on a napkin. She put the flash drive into her computer and video was the only item on it. She opened and her excitement quickly faded. It was someone being murdered. She ran to the bathroom and threw up. It was real.

She ran to get her phone to call the police, but she hesitated. Elly wanted her to see this, but why? Ariana slowly approached the computer and as she looked at the last image of the video, she recognized the murderer. He was a congressman and the rumor was he was going to run for presidency. He had very distinct features and a large scar on his face from a bomb in Iraq. He was a war hero and everyone loved him.

She rewinded to the beginning of the video and paused it on his face. It was definitely him. She sat back and heard a window break. She ripped the drive out and shoved it in her bra as she leaped up. The two men were in her house dressed in all black with their faces covered. Ariana fell back and the men grabbed her and dragged her toward the broken window. She began screaming and kicking and one of them punched her in the face. She was out cold and being hauled off to probably be murdered. One of the guys knocked a bunch of things over and grabbed her purse. He wanted it to look like someone broke in.

Ariana woke up tied to a chair dizzy and feeling scared. The congressman, Richard Gunner, suavely walked up to her.

“I’m sorry for the ill treatment. You have something that belongs to me.” He said with a cheery smirk.

“I don’t know what you are talking about.” Ariana spatted blood at him.

“Classy. You and Elly probably got along quite well. Where is that whore?” His composed nature started to turn.

Ariana refused to answer him and one his thugs walked over and punched her in the face.

“Strip her. She would want to keep something like that close. And then kill her.” Richard said as he walked away cleaning his face with a handkerchief.

Ariana wasn’t going to die there. When the thug struck her in the face, she got his knife out of his pocket. He didn’t realize it was missing until he got too close to her. She stabbed him in the face and he backed away quickly cursing at her. She hastily cut the ropes and freed herself. He plunged at her, but she cut the other side of his face and his arm. He backed away assessing his injures and she made a run for it. He screamed for back up and she grabbed a laptop off the table and keys.

As she got into the parking lot, she clicked the alarm to see where the car was located. She could hear they were gaining on her and she fled the scene as she jumped into the driver seat. She hit one of them with the car and kept going. She was yelling and crying and didn’t stop driving until she got to the address Elly left for her. It was a bakery with pink walls and cherry decals.

She walked into the building on edge. She would be ready for anyone who tried to hurt her. Elly almost jumped on her when she got there. Ariana pushed her hard and back.

“What the hell is going on?” Ariana shrieked.

“Ariana, I knew you would be a safe person to leave this with. Did you watch it?” Elly probed.

“Yeah, I did and I got attacked.” Ariana started pacing back and orth.

Elly told her about how Richard was her former boyfriend and she discovered the real version of himself. The truth was he was selling US secrets and got caught in Iraq. This video was him killing the person who confronted him, who was a friend. The friend recorded it in case something went wrong. Elly put it on a flash drive so she could bring it to the police, but there were too many crooked cops. She couldn’t trust anyone.

The sound of tires screeching made them both jump up and rush to the car.

“Upload it online. Tag every station, everyone. Put it everywhere. We can do it from the car.” Elly screamed.

As they were rushing to their getaway car, bullets were flying past them. Ariana was hit in her shoulder and fell to the ground and dropped the laptop. Elly screamed and pulled her and the laptop into the car while shooting back at the men. She hit one and he was down, but there was five more behind him. Elly started driving as fast as she could, but they were too quick. One rear ended her a few times.

“Upload it now!” Elly screamed.

The upload was only at 94%. They were both yelling and then another car slammed into the side of their car causing it to flip. Ariana was thrown through the windshield and Elly was trapped in the seat. Ariana rolled on her back and crawled toward the sideways laptop.

100%. It was streaming for everyone to see.

Police were surrounding the thugs. Ariana slowly stood to her feet and pulled her friend out of the car. They both started laughing.

“You should see your makeup.” Elly teased.

“I don’t think coverup will fix all this.” Ariana joked back circling her bullet grazed shoulder.

Ariana took out a cigarette and lite it up and passed one to Elly.

“Do you think we could get a slice of that cherry pie? I am starving.” Ariana asked as she took a long puff.

“I think we can have the whole pie.” Elly started to giggle and the two limped off.

Richard Gunner was being put into the back of a police car as they walked past him. Elly blew him a kiss and Ariana put her arm around her. It was going to be a good a day after all. Sometimes you just need a friend you can trust.