It’s amazing how much you hate the ordinary life. You hate the mindless routine that meets you every morning and leaves you every night. Every day is the same damn day, but you take it for granted. It’s your life, but you hate it. But when it’s gone… All you want is to go back to the way life used to be. Such a thing is no longer possible. Not for me.
They broke my door down late into the night. I had no chance to react. My hands were bound behind my back, and I was forced to my feet. Lucky for me, I decided to go to sleep in boxers and a t-shirt that night, but my bare feet stumbled across the smooth, wooden floors and out onto the cold streets. My head was ducked down, and I was forced into a waiting car. Before I could say something, do something, a syringe buried itself into my neck, and that was all that I would remember.
I awoke in a cold, cramped space. There were no windows, no doors. A sliver of light hummed across the ceiling, casting dark, menacing shadows. The floor was soft, padded. A horrifying chill raced through my body as the walls closed in. What have I done to deserve this? How do I get out?
“Those questions won’t be answered.” A hoarse voice rose like a ghost from the furthest corner. “I have screamed for answers until I couldn’t scream no more. They won’t answer.”
I could see her now. Another chill raced through me. I knew her from two-years back when we went to Half Hollow Peak. It was a make out spot for the high school kids and love birds, and it was the night of that spectacular meteor shower. It was actually the best night of my life, but three days later, she disappeared. Her porcelain face was now as white as the moon, and her body was frail, a skeleton. What the hell happened to her?
“I was marked,” she whispered. “That night. That night when we were together, I was marked.” Her eyes were hollow, black. “So were you.” Her lips were crimson, and she licked them gingerly, almost afraid that they would be razor sharp. “You got away.”
“I got away?” I couldn’t bring myself to get close to her. There wasn’t a time when I would want nothing more than to hold her in my arms, but this was not the same girl. It couldn’t be. “How did I escape?”
“I don’t know, but they missed you. They didn’t miss the others.”
“The others?”
“The kids that were there that night. They took them. They took all of them.” She inched forward. “Except you.”
“Where are they? Where are the others?”
“Dead.”
“Dead? No. No.” I couldn’t believe this. I refused. This had to be a dream, one hell of a bad dream. “No.” I banged my fist against the wall. “Let me out. Let me out!”
“They’re not ready for you.”
“Who? Who are they?”
“You’ll find out soon enough.” Her breath was ragged, and something dripped from her mouth. It looked almost like a small rose petal, but I knew better. It was blood. “You’ll find out soon enough,” she coughed.
“What did they do to you?” I found the strength to approach her, and my hand shakily found her shoulder, feeling bone. “What did they do?”
“They took my life,” she cried. Her whole body shook like a ripple in the mirror, and I waited for her to break. “That was no regular meteor shower. They were looking for me. They were looking for us.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know why! I don’t know!” A sob rattled her throat. “I’m going to die, and you can’t save me. Nobody can, and nobody will save you.” I stumbled away from her. “I’m sorry, but you are as good as dead.” She slumped to the floor. “I just want my life back. I hated it, but I would give anything for the ordinary life. Anything…”
I knew she was dead. There was no need to check her pulse. I crumpled to the floor near her body and gingerly touched her head. She was beautiful, my beautiful love, but when I looked for her, she was gone. They had taken her, but why? Why were they doing this to us?
White light seeped into the wall before me. It slowly melted away, and a knot twisted and turned in my stomach. It was my turn. They were coming for me. I had to escape, but the wall was already gone. Tall, dark shadows were now approaching me, and I could feel their hands reaching out toward where I sat. I had to get away. I had to wake up. I had to wake up!
A car screeched at me. My eyes flashed open, and I found myself standing in the middle of the street. It was morning, and I was dressed for work. My briefcase was clutched in one hand and coffee in the other. What the hell happened?
I slowly moved onto the sidewalk. The driver cursed something out the window at me, but I didn’t care. Instead, I hurried over to the newspaper stand, and my eyes fell over the date. Yesterday. Today was yesterday. They would be coming for me tonight. This was my chance, my only chance of escape, and I wouldn’t play the fool, thinking that this was all a dream, an alien dream. Instead, I would run. I would leave this ordinary life behind and start over, hoping that they would never find me, but I’ve always remained a step ahead. That was how I escaped the first time.
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Melissa R. Mendelson is a published short story author and self-published poet, who has been featured in The Outreach for Breast Health Foundation’s Anthology: Beyond Memories; Names in a Jar: A Collection of Poetry by 100 Contemporary American Poets; Espresso Fiction: A Collection of Flash Fiction for the Average Joe; Bartleby Snopes Literary Magazine. She also has written several fan fiction stories, which can be found at fanfiction.net.
