Little Miss Skater Girl*O2L Fan-Fic*

The Inbetween (Part 1/3)

I heard very few words, but I knew what they were going to do. And  I couldn't let them. With shaking hands I rip the rag off my face and bolt for the door, I make it past them and run. Run through the building, Into the alleyway and out onto the street. My legs hurt and my lungs felt like they were going to collapse, the sky was dark and cars whizzed by on the crowded street.

"Get back here!" Unknown, yet recognizable, voices yelled angrily. 

Run! 

Though my legs ached I raced out into the street. A bright light shined in my face, my body hit the ground. Crack. Pain shoots through my limbs and the world goes black 

Beep. Beep. Beep. A white light, where was I? 

"Ryleigh, we've been waiting." 
~~

White. That's all I could see for miles. Bright, bright light. My limbs were numb and I couldn't speak. I felt paralyzed. Who were those guys? Why did I recognize them and where the hell am I?!

"Where am I?!"  I managed to scream into the never ending blinding white.

I felt something on my shoulder, a feather light hand. I felt warm breath on my ear that send shivers up my spine. A girl with ginger hair appeared in front of me. She was dressed in a Metallica T-Shirt and skinny jeans. She had a nose piercing, and a Monroe. Her lipstick was bright red, her eyes blue her make-up dark but beautiful. Her eyes held a frighten look to them.

"The in-between."  Her voice was silky, almost like she held a secret power.
"In between what?!" I was frustrated. And scared. 
"Heaven and Hell. Not quite dead, not quite alive." 

Nerves. How could I trust this person? How do I know she is telling the truth?

"Marcus." She says simply, her voice cold.
My forehead crinkles, confused. "The guy with the gun. His name is Marcus."
"Who are you?" I ask flabbergasted. 
"Rae. Rae Milling."

I recognize the name. I don't know why, or how.. but it's all so familiar. 

"He killed me." Her skin looked transparent, and it clicked. I knew she looked familiar.

~ 
(Flashback; 4 years ago)

"15 year old Rae Milling disappeared from her home in California last week. Reports have not yet found her yet." A fake blond newscaster says, like she has a million times before. A picture of a girl, about my age, flashed on the screen. She had ginger hair, a Rolling Stones jacket over a Metallica t-shirt. She had neon green skinny jeans and her shoes were toms. Her smile was wide, she looked like someone who was just like me. 

Only a week later they reported sightings of the girl, another week later a report of her death went global. Apparently, she was found on the outskirts of Dallas, Texas. They said that she was found dead. Her parents found out that she was meeting with some guy from the Internet, and that he must have killed her. Not that they ever found the man. 

(End of flashback)
~ 

"Who were the guys with the suitcases?" Suspicion takes over, I recognized them. I know I did. 

Rae starts to fade, "I can't tell you." She says, her voice cracking, she eventually faded away.
"Why!?" I scream.

I was alone. What was I supposed to do? 

~

 Questions. I had so many. But I couldn't move. My feet were glued to the floor, or at least it felt like it.

"Why am I here?!" I try screaming again, into the never ending whiteness. 

Just like before a girl appeared in front of me. Her hair was dark brown, almost black. She wore a baggy gray sweatshirt and sweatpants. Her face was tear stained, yet she held a small smile. I recognized her too. She was on the news. Something about a disappearance. I didn't think anything about it, at the time..

"A second chance." She whispers, her voice not as clear as Rae's.
"Second chance for what!?" 

She moves her hand in an angelic princess wave, her neon-blue nail polish shining.

"We show you the way." She says in a plain simple way.

Way? What way? What the hell does that mean? What does any of this mean?! It doesn't make sense.  None of it does. 

"Ryleigh, we are here to help you."
"We? Help?" 
"Yes."  

That's all she say. She walks away, somehow ungluing my feet from the ground making me toy along like a confused puppy. I couldn't do shit about it, so I follow her. We walk, for what feels like hours, through the white until we get to a door. 

"A door? In the middle of whatever this is?" I question.
"Ryleigh, it's time for you to see."
"See what?! Stop talking in riddles!"

The red door opens, a blinding light shining into my eyes and a sleep falling over me.

~

Green grass. Itchy, green grass surrounded me.  I was laying in a green field, confusion fell over me. Why am I here? I stand up, wiping the grass off my butt. Maybe all that was a dream, or maybe I'm hallucinating. 

"Follow me." The girl said earlier.

Yep, I'm hallucinating. Her skin was shiny and she didn't seem completely real. It was like an acid trip, only not the bright colors. Just the hallucination. The girl leads me through twists and turns in the forest, finally hiding behind a tree. Not 5 feet in front of us a group of three girls, two red heads and a black haired, show up. They have backpacks on and are giggling uncontrollably. 

"Why are we-" 
"Shhh."

A gun shot goes off in the distance. The girls turn around in fear, I instantly recognize them as the girls from the news. One, a little more personal.

Rae Milling.

"Rae what was that?" The little red head squeaks. 
"Some jackass that probably shot an animal." Rae answers rolling her eyes.

A second gun shot. Closer this time.

"Rae!" This time, the black haired one says. I recognize her too. The ghost-girl standing next to me.
"Cassidy. Calm your self." Rae, the obvious oldest, says. 

Suddenly a guy runs up. He had a wicked smile on his face and a gun on his hand. Fear strikes the girls. The same fearful face I met less than thirty minutes ago.  The guy talks to the girls, I can't hear the words but the girls still look scared. A few other guys come up and drags the girls to a place. Time morphed and suddenly we were farther in the forest. The girls where lying on the ground, they looked awful. Rae's stomach was covered in blood, 'Cassidy' laid next to Rae, her face was tear streaked much like it is now. The other red head was hovering over them, her face was serious but her eyes were terrified. She begged and pleaded for the guys to let them go, but the guys don't. 

One.
Two.
Three. 

 Gunshots rolled out, twisting my stomachs in knots. When I looked up again, the guys were gone. The girls were covered in blood, the shallow breathing now nothing. The little-red-head was the only one partially alive, she was thrown into a tree. Her face was blotchy, her eyes red and puffy. Her right arm was clutching her stomach in pain while the left one lay to her side. 

Time morphed again. This time to a church. Two caskets, a podium and flowers were on the stage.

Two caskets?

The room was filled with sobs. The room contained what looked like almost all teenagers. There were many adults, most of which in the back. Everyone -even the highscool jocks- was trying to hold back tears. Hell, I didn't know the girls and I was about to cry.  In the front row I recognized the little-red head. Her arm was in a cast and she looked sick. 

"Harmony." Cassidy whispered in a small voice. "She was Rae's little sister." 

The man started preaching, one by one all of these girls friends read about them. Saying how beautiful, smart and funny they were. How they could brighten anyones day. Or how the girls didn't deserve this. The last one to say anything was the little red head - or ''Harmony." 

"Rae Alicia Kingsley. Other wise as my older sister. What can I say, that hasn't been said? Rae was beautiful, amazing and funny. She was bitchy, rude and sarcastic. But she didn't judge. She was there for everyone. Cassidy Mariyln-Poppie Buick. She was mine and my sisters best friend. She was like Rae, but different. She was the seemingly sweet nerd, with a edgy laid back rock-N-roll style. They didn't deserve this. Nobody does. I miss them like crazy, and I wish it me. Instead of them. "

The room swirled and squiggled til' we were in a bedroom.  The bedroom walls were splatter painted, the bed spread was midnight black. The room was clean, the room neatly picked up - except for the various clothing items sticking out from under the bed. A cork-board of pictures with Rae, Cassidy and a few boys was tacked up to it. One of a boy and Rae kissing, another of the group on the beach and a zillion more. A diary was laid on the bed, alongside a envelope. A red laptop was open to a black screen. 

Blood was splattered onto the carpet, a rope connected to the off ceiling fan. I had a sinking feeling that I knew what happened in here, and who's room it was. 

"A year after we were killed, Harmony couldn't live with the guilt. She went a psychiatrist, a counselor even her friends. But, she couldn't go a day without wishing it was her instead of us. So on May 17th,  2010 she killed herself. Her parents never cleaned her room, they couldn't even look in there without crying. They still live in that house to this day, actually. With Rae & Harmony's baby brother - who is now 14. Not a baby now, I guess." Cassidy sighs, a small tear running down her cheek. "They never found our killer. I was linked to Harmony for a year. I watched her make the video, write the note and kill herself. I watched her go through so much pain. Calling Rae's & I's cellphones at night to hear our voice. One. More. Time. I could never help her though." By now, Cassidy is full out sobbing.

I have no idea what to say. So I don't say anything, I pulled her almost non-existent body into a hug and everything faded back into the white dreamy mist.