Darkness. I raise my hand in front of my face to see nothing. My throat vibrates trying to make a sound, only to be met with a silence that drowns into my ear. Am I dead? My heavy eyes come to a close. I thought there would be more…
A dull purple light pulses from beyond my eyelids. The pitch black, now given a space of its own. Life breathes back into my lungs. After so many years of using an inhaler to function, for the first time in forever I can finally take a deep breath.
Like an eclipsed sun, through the darkness a bright moon with a purple hue slowly forms and hangs high in the sky, casting light across the horizon. Clashing with the darkness in a battle for control. I stand on the air as if it were my own. Below is a city, or what's left of it. Rubble litters the ground as building crumble under their own weight, only to be quickly swallowed by the very same black ooze that sucked me into this hell. It tears itself to web-like strands. Thrashing violently attempting to grapple onto me.
Breaking through all of the thoughts in my head, one word is consistent…
Hunger
As the moon grows higher in the sky, I sink lower and lower until I'm only an arm's length away from being devoured. I know I will die here, and surprisingly I find a calmness in that. My heart does not thump like it did before. My ears are not filled with the incessant drumming from within. I don't fight it and in a single breath, it's all gone.
The muddied ground beneath me shocks my skin. It's cold as ice. Gasping for air, I pick my head up to see that same pitch black in the dream, only this time I can hear the tune of my heart playing its sour notes. A sudden soreness forms over my body like a cast. Growing from my wrist and working its way through every muscle. I try to stand, but the sudden pain sends a shock to my system.
Laying beside me is Ty, unconscious. Drool sputtering down the side of his chin like a newborn baby. I'd never seen him at such peace. Had I not lived with him most of my life I could call him almost gentle.
Painstakingly, I crawl to him, the ooze that had sucked us into this hole ripples away from me like I'd stepped into a puddle. Thankfully, it doesn't suck us any lower. I think we're already at the bottom of wherever it wants to take us.
"Al!" I hear from above. I turn my head to see the blinding sun peeking into the hole. Tom's silhouette casts over us, moments later Kerry's appears beside him.
"I'm ok!" I say. The idea of moving makes my muscles tense. My breath returns to its strained state. If what I saw was just a dream, then I'd say it was a good dream, goop aside. I manage to brush my brother's shoulder. "Ty? You, ok?" I groan, shaking his shoulder again. His eyes won't open. "Ty?" There is no response.
The warmth of a damp towel is all that's left to comfort me. Most time's my family would always be there to support me and pick me up when I fell, but I'm not the one who needs it this time. Kerry cries over Ty's stretcher as the paramedics haul him away faster than she can keep up.
Tom trails beside them, unable to find the words. He can't say anything to comfort Kerry because he's going through the same amount of pain. His eyebrows would push together when he was in pain, but that was the only tell he couldn't hide. He never shed a tear, even when our parents died. His brow furrowed. Even when my mom: his little sister, was lowered into her grave, he held strong for us. Maybe that's where Ty got it from. When men like them are suffering, they keep it to themselves. If only I could do the same.
I've been unable to look either of them in the eye since we were pulled out of the hole, and If Ty is…dead... I don't think I could ever look at them again. It's my fault this happened. Ty was right, I am an idiot. I should've stayed with them from the beginning.
Tom tells Kerry to stay behind and watch me while he goes with Ty. She goes to argue, but without a second of thought, he climbs into the back of the ambulance and slams the door behind him. From the tinted windows, I see my uncle, the man I thought was indestructible, holding his head in his hands, defeated. Kerry finally turns to me, wiping away a stray tear on my chin. I hadn't even noticed. She pulls me in for a hug. A hug that I can't reciprocate. My arms won't lift high enough to wrap around her.
"He's going to be ok." she assures, "It'll be ok" the words wisp through me. All I can think is if he's not. If I'm going to lose my one and only brother. My one and only friend.
She says it to make me feel better, but that's not all. She repeats it to keep herself from breaking apart. My aunt trembles while wrapped around me as the ambulance turns a corner and out of sight. My eyes, glued to the turn hoping they'll spin around and tell me he's magically gotten better. If only.
Kerry finally lets go, taking a moment to wipe away her own tears. With a tortured smile she suggests, "Why don't we get some ice cream?"
Ding!
The doors to the convenience store slide open to reveal an older man at the counter watching the window, his head in the clouds. We continue, immediately going to the freezer on our left where I'm quickly reminded of how far away from home we are. Brands I'd never heard of, or even know how to pronounce stock the shelves. Thankfully I don't have to choose which one would taste the best. Kerry quickly snags two of what looks to be vanilla flavored cream and slams them down on the counter, startling the old man. She apologizes, not meaning to use so much force. He mumbles a price and Kerry pays with whatever cash she has in her purse, embarrassed. We go to leave, but Kerry stops me.
"Do you think you can wait for a bit while I go to the bathroom?" she smiles, but I can tell it's fake. I nod in response. She walks to the back of the store searching for the restroom, trying to hide the tears rapidly falling from her face. The door slams shut behind her leaving only me and the old man alone. I turn to the front looking at the candies along the wall and catch the old man staring at me.
No, not now. I can't deal with this now. The last thing I need is for another person to judge me. I know what he's thinking…I'm so tired of knowing…
"Where are you from?" he asks, sending a shiver down my spine. I can't speak, what if it turns into another problem…Another problem that I caused. What if he's deranged and jumps over that counter to attack me. It wouldn't be a surprise anymore.
Quickly leaving the store to instead go to wait out front, the old man cracks the window next to him and yells "Hey! I asked you a question!" I duck to the side of the store, now in between buildings.
I don't ever want to leave the house again. I just want to go home and be alone. I thought vacations were meant to be fun. It's only been bad since we got here. Maybe it would've just been better if I stayed behind. Let Ty and Kerry go on their own. He'd come back home with a few bruises, that's for sure. At least then he'd be awake- at least he'd be alive.
I lean against the wall and slide down to my butt. Peeling open the lid to my ice cream and using the wooden spoon taped on the side of the cup. I scoop out a small piece. It's overly sweet and sticks to my tongue. The vanilla clogging my nose the minute it melts. It's not so bad, I'll just eat it slowly.
Ever since I was a baby I'd been hesitant to try new foods. When I was younger my teacher gave everyone in class cherries. Apparently everyone except me. I guess she thought it would be a funny joke to give me tomatoes instead. I'd never eaten either before, and I haven't eaten either since. Finding something new that I can eat is at least something good about today.
The sound of footsteps echoes against the concrete, Kerry must've finished her business. I struggle to stand, still holding my ice cream and ready now more than ever to go home. I make my way over to meet with her by the front door, but before I turn, someone rounds the corner at the same time as me, both of us slamming into each other. I hit the ground, my hands catching along the rough stone. My ice cream, landing face down.
"Watch where you're going-" a feminine voice rings. The tone behind it, spiteful.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention." I keep my eyes to the floor. If I look at them for too long, they'll have time to make fun of me. I need to leave this place as soon as I can. I just hope that Kerry sees me before things get bad.
I dust myself off, keeping my head down and quickly try to slip past her. "Wait, I've seen those ugly ears before. You're Al!" My eyes go wide, looking up to finally see Victoria standing above me. A wild grind curling around her face.