When I Open

Parallel

I woke up to a startling morning call from Sophie. "Fuck it, it's 8 in the morning!"

     "I have great news, Clare!"

     "What?"

     "I am coming over with the earnings from the selling of Breaking Bad!" She sounded more excited than I was feeling.

     "Do come here in another hour. I still want to sleep."

     "I'm on my way! Be there in 20, hun!"

     "Whatever, bye." I turned the phone off, putting in back down on my nightstand.

I climbed out of bed, dropped bread into the toaster, and poured some milk into a glass. I brushed my teeth and went back to the kitchen. I thought it would take time for Tardy Sophie to come, so I unwrapped the book I'd been extra curious about.

     I sat on the stool in front of the counter in my kitchen, the toast and milk before me. I took a bite from my toast as I untied the package. I unfolded it open, and to my surprise, it was blank. Only a solid white, purely empty hardcover. I lifted it up and checked the back of the book. It wasn't more filled than it's at the front. I took a sip of my milk, before setting it back down on the table. I carefully turned the cover open.

     Intensely luminous lights dispersed throughout the whole apartment. A strange purple mist started cloaking my body, and I felt as if my body was pixelating and fading. I shut my eyes really, really tightly. I still could see the light even though my eyes were shut.

     I frantically moved my arms and legs around, but it hit nothing - I felt I was floating nowhere. When the brightness faded, I dared myself to open back my eyes. I was still there. In my apartment.

     But it didn't take long for the whole environment I was seeing to crumble as a loud, vociferous beep resonated throughout the room, penetrating my eardrums and drilling my brain. I felt uneasiness surging throughout my body as I trembled down onto the floor when the floor beneath me crumbled, sending tiles, the stool, other debris and me collapsing into the endless darkness.

     Tears began wetting my cheeks. I hoped, if God, per say, existed, He would save me.

The beeping ceased. The falling felt like stopping. Everything that happened just now occured to me as if they stopped. Just disappeared and discontinued.

     My sense of touch startled me when I realized sandy gravel was beneath my skin. I stood up, looking down to my body, finding out my frontal, midriff part of my tanktop had a large tear on it, my arms and legs were severely scarred, and my left cheek received a long gash extending from the top of my upper lip to a few millimeters below the eye.

     I lifted up my head and opened my eyes to the dim sunlight, blocked by enormous trees hovering above me.

     Something wetted my palms. I turned my hand over, and it was stained scarlet, the substance thick and gooey. Blood.

     I instantly shuffled onto my feet, standing up straight. Staggering, I followed the stream of red painting the gravel. I followed it to the crushed head of a girl. Her large, ocre eyes were wide open, and her thin, bubblegum lips were parted. Her head was intensely damaged, until sappy, translucent substances flowed out.

     Immediate panic caused me to let out a shrill scream, not knowing what to do. My feet told me to run, so I submitted.

My bare feet bore severe blisters after what seemed like 15 minutes of running through this mysterious woods. Stones penetrated through my skin, leaves tore my legs, and twigs graze my arms.