Black Water Joyce Carol Oates Novels & Stories

I muttered, then walked out of the room. I fiddled with the bottle cap, forcing it open. I stopped by the metallic rail of the mezzanine, taking a huge amount of water. I watched with disgust as crimson coloured my floors, dead bodies adding an adornment to my already perfect house. My mind was forcing me to think of what my conscience had stressed. Isn't anyone that can turn the tables for you? Didn't you meet a certain him that made you feel different? Alive? Loved? I hit the railing with my clenched fist, my other hand losing its grip on the bottle, sending it to the ground floor.

Once the light were closed I went under the covers and pressed her body against mine, her figure, supple and smaller than I’ve ever remembered, to let go. It didn’t take too long for exhaustion to overtake her, and she fell in a coma-like slumber. * * * * * I felt it when she woke. I opened my eyes feeling as if I’d slept only for an instant. There were dried tears on her cheeks and redness to her eyes. In movies, you see women crying all prettily, but that’s not how sadness works, that not how pain works. There is nothing pretty about having your heart shattered. There is no scenario telling you how to act it, and what comes next. There is just the pain.

He showed her no compassion and that's when the young woman felt that her cause was truly lost. For a moment, the young woman could hardly breathe. No! Not now... she said to herself. Not now... She began to make the hundred steps under the vigilant eye of the man. She was choking... She had more and more difficulty to breathe and in a last look of pity towards the man, she felt herself losing her balance... She closed her eyes and fainted. Before closing her eyes, she had time to see the face of the stranger who had caught her in time... Black hole... ***

"Mh, I love when my food puts up a fight. The adrenaline makes them taste so much sweeter." A thud sounded behind me, and I stopped walking and turned to face the woman. Her blonde hair was in a thin bun on her head, and her lips were dry and cracked. Her skin was sucked tight against her bones, and beyond the scratch on her cheeks where a small amount of dried blood sat, they were pale and colorless… unlike her eyes. Those were black, different than anything I had ever seen. Instead of just the irises being black like bears had, the orbs were entirely black, reflecting their soul.

I quickly pressed the red button on my screen again before walking swiftly through the backdoor which led to the kitchen. The silence was almost oppressive; the darkness swallowed everything around me. Yet, instinctively, my eyes managed to adjust rather quickly, and I went down into the living room without so much as a second thought. Every step felt premeditated; the stillness seemed to follow me, yet my attention did not falter for an instant. I knew where I was going. The sight I met made my blood boil with fury. The man dressed in black was gripping and twisting Joyce's left wrist tightly, leaving Joyce writhing in pain. The man was clearly making her uncomfortable, fueling my rage.

Nothing, no scent, no sound, no sign that anyone had entered. A shaky breath escaped my lips as I clutched my pounding head. I staggered to my feet, guided only by the pale moonlight spilling through the window. My body felt like lead, weak, empty, and starving, my throat burned with dryness. I stumbled into the kitchen and drank water. I set the cup down, and that’s when it happened. A sharp, agonizing crack split through my bones, my knees buckled. No. Not again. I screamed as the shift overtook me, my bones twisting, reshaping, skin tearing. The black wolf emerged, ruthless and wild, trapping my soul behind its eyes.

Apparently a monster. I stepped under the spray still clothed, letting the icy water soak through Lorenzo's shirt, through my skin, all the way down to my bones. The cold stung, it was sharp and clarifying, but it wasn't enough. Nothing would ever be enough to wash away the taint of what now lingered on my tongue, in my blood. For some reason I couldn't stop the tears. They came without warning, without permission, pouring down my cheeks in hot streams that the cold water immediately washed away. Sobs wracked my body, violent and heavy, tearing from my chest like they were being ripped out of me.

I felt a sharp pain, but it wasn't physical pain; it was a pain that made me feel like my soul was being torn apart. Blood, my blood, dripped from my hand. The Oracle dropped it into the fountain, and the water, which had been a source of light, turned into a symphony of colors. My blood moved in the water, creating patterns of red, orange, and black. My blood, my essence, my soul—everything was being read. The old woman and the Alpha fell silent. Their eyes were fixed on the fountain, their faces a mixture of amazement and fear. And I, I felt empty. I felt my soul dissolving, my life being read, and my destiny being revealed.

He said it in an extremely serious tone. "O-kay Dad!" I said but inside my mind, I already said a few cusses. I knew what Dad is going to say and I can no longer reason a way out of it. *** Black's POV "Black I'm so dead! I can't escape anymore!!!!!" Mich complained. She is here in my room this early morning just to complain. "What happened?" I asked confusedly because I haven't heard any explanation since she came in, she just rants and voices out how her life is doomed.

My parents provide me with absolutely everything. Maybe the lack of emotion, understanding, and her presence—everything else I have, and she’s not even… I shake my head. “Mom, nothing happened. I’m going upstairs to shower now.” “No, you can’t shower. You'll get rid of all the evidence. I know that you don’t want this because you’re afraid of what people will say. You’re afraid that people will judge you, but I will be with you every step of the way. I will hold your hand. I will stand in this case and make sure that justice is served. You know me, okay? I am a Blackwater, and I do not lose ever. I’m not going to lose this time. No, never. I would never lose. I planned my life ever since I w