Pain. Blinding pain. She put her arms around her stomach,
hugging herself, trying to stop the pain that ran through her body. She
was dying, but didn't know it. She laid there for what seemed like hours,
but couldn't have possibly been. When it was over, she remained on the
ground, trying to catch her breath. After a few minutes, she stood up,
ready to leave the alleyway that concealed her. She brushed off her
clothes as best she could, and ran a hand through her hair, stopping at
the back of her head. Bringing her hand around so she could get a good
look at it, she saw what was in her hair. The brownish flakes covered her
hand, under her nails. Blood. Dried blood. She didn't remember what had
happened. She couldn't remember anything, but it didn't bother her at the
time.
She wiped her hand off on her jeans and stepped out onto the
sidewalk. It was almost dawn, and she could feel it. He skin began to
itch and burn. She didn't know what was happening, all she knew was that
she had to get out of there. Every particle of her being told her to run.
So, she did. She ran as fast as she could. To where, she didn't know.
Didn't care. The pain drove her forward.
Within seconds, she came to an abandoned building. Without a
second thought, she climbed the chain-link fence surrounding it, and went
through the door. It would have been a dangerous place for any mortal to
be in, but she paid no attention to it. There were more important things
on her mind than the possibility of something falling on her. Nothing
could possibly hurt more than the feeling that spread across her body. It
had gone past the itching, it felt as if her skin was being torn from her
body. She had to get away from it! Instinctively she went into the
basement. There were no windows. The pain lessened. Finding a corner,
she sat down, rested her head against the wall, and fell into a deep
sleep. Deeper than could be imagined by any not having experienced it,
nothing could wake her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She woke up early the next morning, not long after the sun at set,
to find herself in the except same position in which she'd fallen asleep.
She was thirsty. That was what had woken her up. As she became
completely conscious, shaking off the last bit on lingering sleep, she
heard the voices of people in the building across the street as they were
about to retire for the night. To her, it sounded as if they were right
next to her. Without much concentration, she realized that she could hear
people at a far greater distance away. And not only that, but their
thoughts and feelings as well. It all became a jumble of noises.
Clutching her ears she tried to block it out, unsuccessfully. Tears began
forming in her eyes, the sound was driving her crazy! 'Go away! Go away!
Go away!' she silently pleaded. Then suddenly it stopped. She let go of
her ears, surprised at the sudden calm. It seemed that just her willing
the voices to stop they did.
She ran her fingertips across her cheek to wipe away the tears,
leaving a dirt smudge on her creamy skin. She looked down at her hands
and gasped. They were covered with blood! This was a night filled with
surprises. Frantic, she touched her cheek again and examined her
fingertips. She was crying blood! Her body began to shake, and she
slipped to her knees, trying to regain her strength. 'What's happening to
me?!?' she thought, but wanted to scream. She lowered her head and let
the tears flow. Through blurred vision she watched as the red drops
splattered on her chalk white hands. She couldn't even move, to brush
them away. She sat there, crying, for a few minutes.
After several deep breaths and a lot of self-reassurance, she
started feeling a bit better. Slowly she stood, her knees finally having
enough strength to hold her. Her head had finally cleared somewhat, and
she'd somehow convinced herself that everything was completely normal.
The thoughts and words of everyone around her was reduced to a low hum in
her head.
She had to get out of this basement, out of the building. For
some reason she didn't like it. This hadn't realized this until that very
moment, but she couldn't stand the building any longer. Making her way up
the stairs, she slipped out the door. No one had noticed that she'd left,
just as she'd gone unnoticed upon entering the building.
