To the Cosmos and Back

I

Icarus

He's just standing above me. I can't see the sun because his head is blocking the blinding light out from my direct eye sight.

"Hey, so are you sure this is the one you're talking about?" he says, though I don't think he's talking to me.

"Yeah," a girl's voice answers. It sounds smooth and stern.

I just study him for a second, blinking at the few rays of light that are peeking out from strands of his hair.

His hair seems black and it's cut short and then swooped up while his skin is covered in freckles and moles. His piercing blue-gray eyes are looking me up and down.

I try to speak but there's no luck for me. It feels like something is lodged in my throat.

"Well, hi there," the boy above me says. He leans down and steps to my side, holding his arm out for me to grasp.

I stare at him for a few seconds before reluctantly reaching up and grabbing his wrist while he leans back and pulls me up with his weight.

"You have pretty eyes," he says. He's grinning while analyzing me.

I want to answer but I can't. I just stare dumbly at him.

Did I sleep with my mouth open or something? 

"So, how long have you been here, or do you not know?" a girl says, stepping towards me. She has strikingly blonde hair that's probably not natural swept to her right side. Golden locks stream down her right shoulder and she wrinkles her nose, using the muscles in her face to push black rectangle rimmed glasses up the bridge of her nose.

I shake my head. I passed out at about four PM earlier. Now the sun is setting, so possibly two or three hours. I really can't decide, though.

We're standing in a clearing on the edge of the Wacord Wood, a dense forestland just behind my apartment. The entire place is as wide as three miles and endlessly deeper.

What I want to know is why there's a gorgeous girl and a dangerously attractive boy in my clearing.

Multiple attempts at clearing my throat and I try speaking. Nothing works. The girl laughs, like a snort, and then smiles.

"Don't try to talk. You must've just fallen, which is good. You should be able to find your voice within another hour or so," she says, "I'm glad we caught you in time."

I don't know whether to think they're insane or think I'm insane because they look so sure of themselves, as if they've actually been looking for me.

"We'll explain everything on the way, Pretty Boy," the boy says. I raise an eyebrow at the nickname.

The two friends share a look and then they make their way to the left end of the clearing, signaling I should follow.

Normally, I'd think better of following two strangers deeper into a dense wood, but I can't help myself. It's as if I'm being dragged toward them. My feet are moving in their direction before I can do anything about it.

The boy slows down and ambles alongside me. I can practically see the gears turning in his head.

"Would you quit looking at me?" I say before I can stop myself. It comes out wrong and certain words were spoken in a higher pitch than others, as if my voice wants to change volumes.

He breaks out in a laugh. "Wow. You're right, Nellie, this is hilarious." He explains that what I just experienced was my mind finding my voice. It tried to change in order to fit my personality, apparently.

I can hear the girl giggling a few feet ahead and I clear my throat before speaking again.

"I want to know three things," I begin, my voice sounding more regular. The tempo is staying the same this time. "'What's going on?', 'Where are we going?', and 'Why am I following you?'"

The girl tilts her head to the side while brushing a few branches away and then she shrugs, as if she's decided on something.

"I can't answer the first one at the moment. I'll have to explain that later. The second, we're heading to Meincurt Avenue. Third, you can't help yourself." A pause. "Don't try to turn around and run, it'll hurt," she suggests. I decide to abide by her orders considering her serious tone.

We walk in silence for another three minutes before breaking out of the trees and into the crisp daylight. My gaze drifts over the grocery that's nestled between two town home buildings just across the street. Two little girls are spinning a jump rope for a boy on the curb while all different types of vehicles rush by, spitting up black asphalt with their rubbery tires.

"And why are we here?" I inquire. The girl, who I assume is Nellie, jerks her head from left to right and stares at the sky for a moment. Her expression darkens and before I understand what's happening, her companion yanks me down the sidewalk and she follows, constantly jerking her head to look behind her.

"Okay, never mind this. What the fuck are we doing," I say while skidding to a stop and pulling the boy's hand off of my wrist. That startles him and he looks back at me, panic apparent on his face.

"You have to come with us. They'll take you back and kill you," he says.

I didn't know what he was talking about, but that was enough for me. It wasn't on my To-Do list to get killed today.

A noise like a whistle is filling my head now. It's high pitched and immediate, like its soul-purpose is used for driving anyone listening to it mad.

And it's working.

I pull both of my hands up and cover my ears, but the whistling is still there, as clear as day. It's like a high pitched siren that's never changing in pitch or volume. It's just... just there.

I run faster. It's loud and obnoxious and I usually tend to run away from my problems. Nellie and the boy are hot on my tail, but they haven't caught up yet. I want to scream now. The whistling is still there and it's bouncing around in my skull.

A few seconds later, it fades out and it's gone.

But I don't stop running. I'm wheezing while I feel my chest tighten and my calves are aching and legs are burning, but I don't care. I want to get away from that noise in case it ever comes back.

The next few seconds are a blur. First there's my feet on the ground, then I'm in the air, and then I have no oxygen in me. I think I fell, but I can't tell. I don't even know what time it is or how bright it is. I must've hit my head.

The pair are carrying me now, each supporting me on the shoulder. I'm running with them but I'm tripping on their feet and my feet and on the air. I follow them around the corner while my vision is only seeing their figures and then they're gone. Before I can stop running, the law of inertia works against me and I come to a full stop, but my body lurches forward and then I'm falling into darkness.

This entire day is shit. It was pretty awesome in the earlier hours, but now it's officially (and fully) shit.