The Beginning

Orianna sat up screaming. Her heart was racing and she could feel the blood pulsing in her head. She looked around scared and confused. Slowly she stood and realized where she was. She was in a tree house. A crude little tree house. Orianna stepped to the door and looked out. There was a nice looking house with a large red deck only steps away from the full maple tree the tree house was built in. By the looks of the leaves it was late spring or early summer. The air was warm and the breeze was nice. She sat down and imagined the people who must live in the house, imagined a young boy running from somewhere in the yard to his fathers open arms as he stood dutifully next to the grill. A woman in a frilled apron stepping out of the house holding a plate stacked with hamburger buns.
Suddenly Orianna's nostrils were filled with a pungent iron scent and she was snapped into reality. She looked down and the once luscious green grass was smeared with the rust color of dried blood. Half a dozen headless corpses were piled at the base of the tree. Orianna closed her eyes and took a deep breath and smiled. She slowly sat down and dangled her feet from the door of the tree house.