Premonition

I sighed, turned away from the mirror and made my way to the door. I should have kept walking. I should have left the bathroom and never looked back. Instead I found myself frozen, wavering obliviously on the threshold of destiny. I'd forgotten to turn off the water. I turned around, annoyed at the inconvenience, and went to turn off the faucet. I felt the change immediately. Something was different. Something was wrong. From the very first step a tingling somewhere deep in my chest had begun. A tingling that quickly turned into a beating and then a vibrating. Every step I took was fuel to the vibrations resonating within my chest. By the time I reached the sink the vibrations where pronounced enough to reach the tips of my fingers. Thinking back, any sane person would have freaked and run out the bathroom right then and there. Call me brave, call me stupid, either way I didn't run out, not yet. I stood there, my hand hovering over the faucet. Puzzled. Cautious.

My skin made contact with the cold, unyielding metal, and as the stream ceased to exist a sense of doom descended upon the nape of my neck. Its heavy, stifling fist weighing down upon my shoulders with the authority of fate itself. A shiver went down the length of my spine and the hair on my arms stood on end, charged by some unknown force. Suddenly the world seemed to slow down, or maybe I slowed down, trapped in another one of times mischievous antics. Time, cruel little joker that it is, granted me only enough time to look up and discover that the youth in the mirrors features had turned pale and sickly white. Then it delivered the punch line. I felt as if two lightning rods had been jammed in my chest and where frying the shit out of me. The rods seemed to unleash something within me, allowing the vibrations to resonate in full force. Blood rushed to my ears, lending the vibrations a voice. They hammered at my chest, roaring and straining. There was a pop, a moment of absolute silence, and then the next thing I knew I was on the floor flat on my ass.

I blinked. Had I- had I just passed out? I blinked again and looked around. I held up my hands to my face, checking to see that everything was where it was supposed to be. No vibrations? My hands shook slightly but under the circumstances I figured that was normal. Check. No rush of blood to my ears? I swallowed, releasing pressure that had been built up in them. Check. No twin lightning rods in my chest? I shivered. Check. Everything seemed to be in order. I reached up for the sink and hauled myself to my feet. But as I stood up my strength seemed to bleed out onto the floor and my vision blurred. I gritted my teeth, refusing to pass out again. I held on for a few seconds, wavering on the edge of consciousness, until the black chasm of nothingness retreated grudgingly to a safer distance. Exhausted, I raised my head up to the mirror, and gasped. It was gone, broken into a million little pieces that had spilled over the sink and now carpeted the tile floor.

That was it, I was done. I freaked and stumbled to the door. My locker. I had to reach my locker; it was my last stop before home. I let go of the sink, concentrating on simply keeping my balance. Each step was a struggle, a desperate grapple against gravity that I refused to lose. I heaved my right leg forward, spots dancing before my eyes, and despair boiled within my chest. I watched helplessly as a deep shade of crimson infiltrated my sense of vision, obscuring the edges of my sight and striving to encompass me completely. Fear paralyzed me. I did not want to faint; I might never wake up again. As I stood there, struggling to stay on my feet, a familiar buzz suddenly shot through me, bolstering my muscles and shocking me wide awake. Adrenaline lent me the strength to push on and stumble the last few steps to the bathroom door. As I neared it I brought up my hand, intending to push it open and pass through. My hand made contact with the door, and it happened again. I felt like I was trapped, a hostage between one second and the next, unable to move through time properly. In the span of a second time slowed down enough for me to notice that my hand, splayed upon the door, half on the metal plate and half on the painted wood, sported a long gash just under the knuckles. When did that happen? Then time picked up its crutch and went on its way. My vision blurred and my limbs trembled as a flash of convulsions racked my frame. My senses began to flee, dulling enough so that the sudden flash beneath my fingers registered as a far away flash. Then darkness descended over me with the abruptness of a turned off T.V. monitor.  

My eyes fluttered open. Where the hell am I? With sluggish confusion I observed the scene before me. It was a wide messy hallway, with shredded pieces of wood strewn haphazardly around the room. A fine layer of dust floated in the air, whipping around in little eddies and currents. With mild shock I realized I was still on my feet. How long had I been out? It didn't matter, all I knew was I did not want to hang around. I took a frantic step forward and stopped, gasping and falling to my knees. As soon as I'd started moving my strength seemed to drain out of me completely, just like before. Except there was no fighting it this time. My vitality had left me so completely I no longer had the strength to support my weight. My shoulders and neck jarred heavily as my knees made impact. The dull thud of my chest crashing against the tile floor echoed in my ears, as I felt my life force drain away. My vision faded, catching a lone figure making its way towards me before flickering out.