Chapter Eight,
Cindy walked quickly along the dark city street. Leaves littered the ground and bare trees hung over her. Aside from the moon, one lone streetlamp was the only source of light and it shone eerily on the cracked footpath. Her footsteps echoed off the dull brick walls, crawling with graffiti and grime. There was oddly no one around and Cindy shivered, pulling her coat tight around her body as she all but sprinted to her well loved car. She didn't seem to be getting any closer to reaching Maggie however. Everytime she looked up she could see the outline of her car in the distance, but it didn't seem to be getting any bigger.
"Cindy..."
The reporter stopped and spun around as she heard her name whispered. She couldn't tell where it was coming from. When she turned back, Maggie was gone. She stood puzzled for a second until she spotted a light shining across the street.
She walked steadily closer, crossing the road slowly. As she got closer the light grew brighter and brighter. Suddenly she realised.
She was supposed to meet the girl's at Papa Joe's tonight. They were going to have drinks and celebrate... what? She couldn't remember.
Her hand found the doorknob as her other arm shielded her eyes from the blinding light. She turned the handle, the door swung inwards and sound exploded around her.
She took a hesitant step inside and shrugged of her coat. She looked down.
Why was she wearing her formal dress?
Cindy's head snapped up as the door closed with a bang. The music was loud, the patrons were rambuscious and the wait staff were harried. She sidestepped one of the waitresses to avoid wearing beer and glanced towards the not-a-club's favourite booth. She relaxed as she saw Lindsay, Jill and Claire sitting around the table. Margaritas sat in front of them as they chatted softly. Cindy made her way over to her friends.
"Hey, guys!" She chirped happily, sliding in next to Jill. No one looked up.
"I don't know if I can do this." Jill said softly. Claire placed a comforting hand on the ADA's arm.
"What's wrong?" Cindy asked.
"You can, we can." Claire whispered.
"What happened?" Cindy cried. When neither Claire nor Jill answered, the red head looked at Lindsay.
"Linds... what are they talking about?" Cindy was starting to panic. Her whole body started to ache and she tried to move her arms to hold her stomache, but they felt too heavy.
Lindsay growled and Cindy followed her gaze. She saw a man sitting at the bar facing the girls, a smug look on his face. He looked so familiar, but Cindy couldn't quite place him.
"I'm going to arrest you!" Lindsay said forceably, standing up and moving to the man. "You killed a member of our club!"
Cindy suddenly realised who the man was. She recognised the cold, hard eyes and the dark hair. Flashes of memory suddenly flew back into her head, making her dizzy. She remembered everything.
Was she dead?
Was this what it was like to die?
Papa Joe's started fading around her. The roof cleared up and became sky. The tables, chairs and people disapeared and she suddenly felt sand beneath her feet. She looked down, wriggling her toes. When did she take off her shoes?
When she looked back up again she saw the ocean. The sun was bright and she wished she had her sunglasses. She felt silly when she discovered they were already on. Something seemed odd about the ocean, but she couldn't quite place it.
It came to her suddenly. The ocean was frozen, standing still. There were no waves lapping and rolling on the beach. No seagulls chirping in the sky. It was like she was in a painting.
"Cindy, sweetie..."
The reporter looked around wildly. She couldn't figure out where the voice was coming from. She suddenly heard a steady beeping sound, getting louder and louder. She felt a ghost of a touch on her hand. Her eyelids felt heavy and she closed them.
Something pressed against her back, something soft and slightly bumpy.
"...wake up.." She heard the voice again. She almost recognised it. The voice sounded so comforting. She loved this person, she knew that much.
The steady beeping grew louder and louder. Her body started hurting, lots of pain. It was so hard to move.
"Come back to me, Cindy." The vioce was crystal clear this time. Cindy turned her head to the sky, eyes still closed.
She knew that if she went to the voice, pain would follow. She could just stay here forever in this beach, frozen in time.
"Don't leave me..."
Cindy's heart warmed. Her mind was made up. She needed to find the voice, she needed to go back. She needed to tell the voice that she would never leave them.
She felt herself be thrown back hard into her body and her eyes fluttered open. She looked around wearily. She was in a hospital room. She felt a comforting squeeze on her hand. She looked up into the smiling face.
"Hey, you. Welcome back."
~WMC~
Small survey / vote for those who review. Who is the voice? Thanks for reading.
