Last chapter! It was a short run, but a good run. I'm glad I decided to post this.
Thanks all you guys who reviewed. You really made my day(s).
I hope you all continue to support me on my next grand endeavor…It's gonna be a wild ride, one that I've been practicing for for quite a while now.
Song:
C'est La Mort by The Civil Wars
I know I said I wasn't going to post the songs, but this one just fits so well….
Thanks again.
Over and Out,
-Kat-
…..
Chapter Seven: Last
In the mirror, hazed and chipped from age, my reflection held the bottle of pills like it was filled with venomous snakes. If he held it too tight or shook it too hard, he might upset the serpent inside; yet, heavens forbid he held them with loose fingers, lest the vipers escape the bottle and wreak havoc on his already fragile mind. He looked a mess alright. The shadows dug hollows underneath his dark blue eyes. At one point, they might have been vivid with mischief. Now, they were dull with the prospects of this dreary world. It wasn't as fun as he thought it when he was a child.
I blinked, and he blinked with me. A tired, leery representation of myself, I thought, but more accurate than anything I'd ever seen. In the sink, the water rushed out of the tap, swirling like Charybdis. It was about midnight. I had just finished showering and cleaning up. My hands were covered in fresh bandages, white and stiff, and clasped between them with machine-like precision was that same bottle of pills my reflection so cherished. Sucking in a breath, I broke contact with the mirror and shifted my gaze to them.
If there really were any snakes in there, the bottle showed no sign of it.
I sighed.
I…I was ready. I'm ready to end this now.
Within a second, the cap was off and the pills were in my hand…oh God…I was really doing this. The breath started to hitch in my chest. But…I knew, didn't I? I knew as soon as Mrs. Cindy gave me these pills what I was going to do with them. It was just all too much…the dreams, my life. I wasn't learning anything! Ralph had said I would, but I just…just was done with this.
If I did this, right here, right now, I could…
…I could be with them forever.
Ralph and Roger and Simon and Maurice and Samneric and everyone else I'd left behind on that Godforsaken island. I'd even let Ralph be the leader this time. And I wouldn't even try to kill him.
Sucking in one last breath, I downed twenty of the things. Twenty never hurt anyone, did they? And if I was still alive in the morning, I could just add on five. Yeah, five for every night I survived. I capped the little bottle and chucked it into the shower, where it hit the pastel curtain with a muffled thud and rolled back to my feet. Frustrated, I kicked it away.
But it just kept coming back.
I left the bathroom after a while in a blundering daze, angry and sad and tired of everything. When I was in my bedroom, I slammed the door shut behind me and stumbled backwards. I fell into my desk first, then my dresser. Drawers opened about me, spilling their precious contents; a diary entry that I may have saved. A picture of the dearly departed. That metal plate with Ralph's name on it, fringed in my blood. If my parents heard me, they made no sign of it. I pulled away from the dresser; it followed me persistently, tilting onto the floor with a crash. My livelihood and belongings, everything I had once donned and shown with pride, spattered out like a flock of sheep without a shepherd. I tried to pull back the sheets on the bed, but the world was beginning to spin too fast. It twisted in ways it shouldn't have.
The sheets sucked me in.
I tried to escape…I really tried…
My arm outstretched, reaching one last time for the door.
I fell into a rumpled sea. Lying on my back, curved into a strange shape, I fell asleep.
And I started to dream
One last time.
A voice came to me
"This is a good island…"
I opened my eyes. Light twinkled and shimmered around me. I was…on the beach. Ralph sat on the old platform; clothes tattered from wear and hair mussed and dirty. He held s glittering shell in his hands, sparkling with ocean water. Just like he should be, I thought. He pushed the knot of blonde hair out of his pale blue eyes. They fixed on me.
"Jack," He stated plainly, "You're here."
"…" I'd run out of words long ago.
He continued anyway. "This is the last lesson. The most important one…" Ralph smiled, "I am going to teach you how to die."
"What?" I spoke at last. The word was dry on my tongue, hard to communicate.
"You're dying, Jack."
"I knew that."
"Then you shouldn't have asked." Ralph jumped off the platform and beckoned me forward. Then, when I was close, he ran.
Into the woods
Without hesitation, I followed him. Shadows stirred and tasted around my skin, drawing me in and urging me forward. I could see the light of the hollow in the distance. Tears streamed from my face, hot and sticky. I still had one last lesson to learn! I couldn't go…I couldn't…My breath stopped, but I kept on going somehow. My heart slowed, but I was still running. The hollow was getting closer, and in it, just barely visible, were the outlines of those I had left behind. They were waiting for me…I just had to get there.
Beat
Crows fluttered into the air, cursing and cawing at me in digust as I disturbed their peace
Beat
However fragile it may be…
Beat
I'll come to you
Whatever it takes
Beat
Across this darkness
There has to be that place
Where I can feel safe
Beat
You never left me after all
I never left you
You were right here
So wait
Just a little longer…
Beat
I can feel my heart. That one, final, pump.
The rest stopped long ago along with my worry.
…..
6:00 A.M. The alarm rang. Jack's mother yawned and pulled on her robe, heading out of the master suite with a drowsy slowness. She started to prepare breakfast, all according to schedule. She checked the clock again with young blue eyes. Apparently, Jack had inherited all of his good looks from her.
Jack was later than usual, she thought. Removing the eggs from the pan, she headed silently to her son's room. The door was closed tight. How strange. He usually left it open.
She pushed it open with careful fingers. Jack was lying on his bed, curled into a loose ball. He was utterly still, unmoving. He could've been sleeping in truth, he even smiled as if dreaming something sweet. That's why his mother thought him so…She smiled lovingly and quietly shut the door once more.
And let him sleep, only if for a night.
….
I really hope you liked it. I loved writing it, and it was a nice change of pace for me, who's so used to writing comedy and action-packed killing sprees. I'm hoping to pack a little bit of everything into my next project, so this made a great practice run.
Thx for Reading n' Reviewing guys. And to all of you who followed along as well. It makes me really happy that some people actually care about this crap I write XD
Ok, So time for the big announcement.
My next big project is…
A LotF and Walking Dead crossover.
Yup.
That's right.
Zambies and a bunch of teenage boys.
What could go wrong.
See you soon…s
