~Prologue~
Hello, Goodbye
Well, Hello World;
How You Been?
Good to See You, My Old Friend.
Sometimes I Feel As Cold As Steel…
And Broken Like I'm Never Gonna Heal.
I See a Light…
~Hello World, by Lady Antebellum
Disclaimer: Me No Own; You No Sue.
A thick blanket of black clouds covered the city streets like shadows, lingering in the silence of the dark and empty night. Black silence had been pushed back, broken by the echoes of sneakers smacking against the sidewalk and the faint glow of the streetlights littering the empty lane. A single light flickered in the darkness, fighting desperately for its life in the oncoming darkness, but it was struggling to stay bright, like all of the others. There was a pause, a small and quiet sigh of defeat, and then the lonely light flickered into nothingness. Gone.
A divine sign, I realized much later, of the incredible events that were soon to unfold, like the next chapter of a story. My story…
Sighing, I trudged along the streets, barely conscious and following the street out of habit. A crescent moon, surrounded by the various white stars glittering in the skies, also remained hidden tonight. These brilliant entities were not visible in the city, though. Each of them was carefully sheltered amongst the dark clouds, protected from the jaded glare of the world beneath. Earth continued to spin wildly upon its very axis, too caught up in the material to recognize the importance of friendship – and love.
Yes. Earth had given in to the Demons, to the Dark and Evil.
If the Devil exists, then God does, too...
…right?
Blindly, I stumbled through the darkness, thinking that it would be nice to have a small flashlight to make traveling easier, to be the light in the dark that would guide me. I found it hard, nearly impossible, to navigate the silent city in such darkness, but it would be pointless to remain here, standing in the middle of an empty street. All alone, and in the sights of the dark and nefarious creatures that stalked through the night. Murderers, pedophiles, rapists. Monsters. Demons. The Devil exists. God, however…
Shoulders hunched, I decided that it would be prudent to keep walking, to keep trudging through the darkness. Wariness of the night would keep me alive. Fear would not. Maybe I would find the way out, into the light of day, and think only of these times as a scary memory, a nightmare. My mouth set, I continued onward, battling the demons that screamed in my ears and clawed at my shoulders – and losing, too.
Dammit, I want him back…
Winter would be settling in soon. I shivered against the cold, before pulling the thin hood down further over my weary eyes. My ratty old sweatshirt did not provide much warmth, and it was a poor attempt to stay warm. Weather this time of the year warranted much thicker clothes, better than the old military sweatshirt I had taken from him, but I was used to these conditions. In my mind, the harsh conditions of the northern winter were more welcome than the thick blanketing heat of the summer, which only made me remember…
Another gust of cold wind whistled down the alleyway. Wind ripped through the brittle blonde hair peeking out from beneath the hood, cutting into it like a cold, rusty knife. I could barely feel my numb, frozen fingertips, and most of them had been painted blue with cold. A reprieve from that particular pain was a welcome one. Still, I could tell that the pain in my aching heart – the constant bruising of the fist clenched around it – remained firm in its resolve. Such pain was cruel, persistent, and unbearable…
Like Death.
Give him back. I want him back. Please…
Minutes later, I had turned, walking around the edge of the local drugstore, with its pasty white bricks and its sickly glowing lights, which proclaimed Walgreens. My thoughts floated through the dark skies, admittedly lost in the call of silence. A foreign car came zooming down the right lane – clearly exceeding the posted speed limit – and the resulting wave of water cascaded right over my small, trembling form. My thoughts of pain, and silence, and death slammed to a stop, waiting for the inevitable cursing on my part. A damn, or even a stupid asshole, might have eased the pain, if only for a moment.
Sluggishly, I glanced back to Walgreens. Maybe sleeping pills would help? If I swallowed several of them, I might actually fall sleep, and stay asleep, without having another nightmare. I hesitated, nearly walking through the sliding glass doors in seek of something to ease my pain. What could it hurt?
Another car zoomed by.
"Get out of the way, you stupid bitch!"
My old sweatshirt and baggy black jeans clung to me, a second, tougher skin that still could not withstand the emotion beating of the last few days – the last few months. Waterlogged clothes clearly outlined the small form that had lost weight and could not properly fill out the clothing. While still heavier than most girls, I had lost weight in the previous months, and it showed because I walked uncertainly. It had been at least a year since I had looked this small and miserable.
More insults slammed into my ears. Stupid. Fat. Worthless. I could only stare at the silver sports car, which definitely belonged to somebody with wealth, to somebody that did not feel the need to mince words with a mere passing stranger. The Jaguar continued onward, leaving thick clouds of dust and debris in its wake. Horn blared. Tires squealed. Lights flared like crimson fire in the night. Gone.
Sometimes, I really hate this world…!
Eyes watering, I coughed loudly at the acrid smell and the bitter taste of the harsh exhaust fumes, and began to angrily curse. I cursed the car, and the people in it, and the over-the-counter drugs that could not keep the nightmares at bay, not even once. I cursed the world, and I cursed God. My throat burned from the smoke, and the vulgar cursing, and the strain of holding back an ocean of salty tears.
I hate it, I hate it, I hate it!
"…God! How could this horrid day get even worse?" I whispered desperately, nearly pleading, and stared at the dreary skies above with sad blue eyes. Silence was my answer, and then, with only the rumble of thunder for a warning, I found myself drenched in rain.
Does God exist?
No, I didn't believe in God. I might ask that question periodically, desperately listening for something, anything to prove me wrong. But I had learned the truth early on. If He existed, then God chosen to abandon me in my time of need – again and again and again. It had become clear to me that the holy entity could only be the figment of imagination, an omnipotent icon that had been created by the oblivious people of this world to ease our worry and pain.
Regardless of that belief, I had to admit how beautiful, how amazing, it was now to watch the torrent of rain explode from within the belly of the black skies. Raindrops shot at the sidewalk and the old buildings like bullets, followed by the crack of thunder and the flash of lightning, the bombs exploding amidst gunfire. I could only stare at the heavens above me, awed by such power – the mysterious power of God, and of life.
Humans are going to destroy all of this beauty, too, I bitterly thought, lips turned down at the corners as a miserably dark scowl clawed at the chapped pink skin. Humans will destroy it – with cars, and guns, and…
War. A single word, with only three letters perhaps, but it echoed eerily in my mind, louder than the roaring engine of yet another passing car. War. I trembled, biting my pink lips and clutching at my arms. War stole something from me.
A harsh sob that bubbled in the chest, ripped through the throat, and into the empty air made me gasp and shake. One cry was quickly followed by another, and another, and another, all sawing through the strings that kept me up. Losing it, I crumpled to the sidewalk and dropped to hands and knees, ignoring the resulting pain that rippled through previously numb limbs. I began to pound at the black pavement with those limbs, all of which awakened to the resulting scrapes, cuts, and bruises. My numb fingers were once more alive and burning pain. Overwhelming grief, for the first time in six months, screamed from deep within me.
"Dammit, I want him back!" My chapped lips parted for a moment, and the wounded howl of pain wrenched from deep within me was soul shattering and haunting. I fisted both bleeding hands in my sopping wet hair and screamed, "Give him back to me! Please…!"
Another bolt of lightning shot through the sky, almost like a response to the desperate pleas and, in its wake, the first shooting star. I gaped at it, the lost little girl in me awake and hopeful. Such beauty! Another shooting star sparked, falling with burning wings, and I smiled for the first time in months. It was a silly thought, childish and immature. Still, I waited with baited breath for the remnants of that nearly forgotten childhood to stir within the dusty confines in my mind. Eyelids fluttering shut, I succumbed to the desire boiling within me. I wish…
A weird sensation, almost painful in its intensity, began to thrum in my chest with the strength of another heartbeat. It pulsed softly – once, twice, and yet again. There was a moment of silence, followed by the sudden and frantic blaring of the horn, the flash of red and yellow lights, and then…
I was gone.
***Author's Note***
Hello! Welcome to my story, Sacrifice.
This is short, but please take time to read the recently edited material.
PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!
:)