The City In Smoke.

Beyond the Beyond

         The City in Smoke.

Last night an old abandoned factory burned down, and when I woke, the city was surrounded in smoke. Nobody moved, doors we're closed, birds were silent, and the flowers dimmed.

The sky was an odd shade of pink, almost red, with orange and blue splashed around it. Sorrow was the colour of the sky. It was sad, and smoke filled. The air was still, and stale.

I ventured out my door, a small book in hand, and went to the old cemetery. The smoke was still there, but thinning. Sitting on a bench I opened the book to the last page I stopped on, and read. It was too quiet, I read half a page before I couldn't focus.

Standing, I decided to walk, everyone was in because of the smoke so why not? A few gargoyles followed me with their eyes, seeming to judge my every move. I shivered in the hot fog and moved on, walking down the path to the furthest part of the cemetery, with the oldest graves.

The further I went, the more smoke I found myself trapped in, before it cleared again. I made it to the last head stone, holding my book in one hand and touching the stones gently with the other.

The marble from the oldest stone was beautiful, and surely was the best type of stone. Something to be proud of after death. I could only hope to have something this nice when I die. The stone slab was large, as in wide, and long, but not very tall. It was big enough I could sit on, so I did. I opened my book again and read.

I swung my legs as I got to the good part, Mary-Anne chose Rose-Marie over Scotty, so he got revenge by taking Mary-Anne's younger brother to the dance instead of her. The drama was just starting as I felt my self stuck to the plot, buried in the words and entrance by the pages.

Ground rumbled beneath me, the beautiful marble I practically worshipped cracked, and the flowers became unearthed. I cried out in terror, my heart sped in my chest, and I could hear the blood rushing in my ears. Hands tore through the ground, grabbing at the smoke that still hung thickly in the air. I ran, I've seen enough horror movies to know where this was going. Zombies.

The smoke choked my vision and I ended up in the field behind the cemetery. I stopped, out of breath, I was the most physically fit, and rather lumpy, with asthma. I turned to look behind me, the spot was empty, and I sighed, relived. Standing straight, I turned back to the way I was going and stopped short. The terror gripped my lings, and froze my limbs, I couldn't move. A skeleton draped in older clothes stood in front of me. I tried to run but it grabbed my fore arm.

"Help... me..." It whispered, falling to its knees.

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