My Own Personal Hell (Open Novella Contest 2019)

Chapter 2 - Broken Goodbye

Different POV

My eyes stayed glued to the floor. I hadn't been here long; I was simply a refugee trying to get my bearings in this new place. I had a new chance, a new shot. I was going for a stroll in the park first. My first priority really should've been safety, food, shelter, but it wasn't. I'd just escaped the horrors and chains that came with my reality, I wanted to take time to admire the greenery.

Haven was supposed to be a literal safe haven. Anyone could come from far and wide, different countries, different races, from different dimensions, from different worlds, even some who were once at war. Haven was a place for refugees. It wasn't the best treatment, but it was somewhere safe to call home, at least until we had a chance to move on further. The only problem was, sometimes our pasts would follow us. Sometimes the threats that the city faced weren't even our own, we were just considered being weak. That was often the very reasons our demons would leave us alone in the end. We weren't worth the hassle.

My eyes marvelled at the unbroken path - a pavement without constant cracks and holes were new to me. I let the path lead me as all I did was make sure I didn't bump into anyone. The odd foot or two streamed past me every now and then. I didn't have to stare at the floor as if a prisoner anymore but it would be a hard habit to break. My attention was easily diverted by the screams. I thought I was back on my birth planet, experiencing the slaughter of my people.

My head whipped around far before I could stop it. I saw people with nothing but sheer, utter terror in their eyes. Some screamed while others held their tongue, far too broken to do so. I felt the vice grip on myself as my breaths became slightly erratic. My eyes found the floor once again, simply trying to find a safe space. Only when I tried to find the solid ground, I couldn't. The pavement was falling away just as it had when my small group of people had tried to escape, only this time I wasn't sure I would survive.

A new weight encased my left hand. When I turned towards it I spotted one of the people I had to leave behind. A friend was trying to get us through while everyone fell around us. I didn't question it, I just ran. My survival instincts kicked in, dragging the two of us through the ever-growing meander at our feet. I thought I'd escaped this nightmare and yet somehow it was back, maybe it was a second chance to save some of the others. Every time I tried to save someone from falling I heard the same desperate plea.
"Gaia, please. We have to go or we'll die too."

The closer we got to any kind of escape the further away it seemed. The ground kept crumbling - what if I didn't make it this time? Desperation was etched onto my friend's face. I wouldn't leave them this time. I wouldn't let the only person I had left sacrifice himself like he did the last time. I wouldn't let him give himself up for me and watch him die. It was his chance to survive, to live. Except it wasn't the same as last time. There was a few of us swarming towards the only escape. Most were dropping like flies until it was only me and my friend. I'd been the one to survive before but now I wasn't sure either of us would make it.

Every step we took freedom still looked far away. I had to make a decision. I had to let him die or have us both die, there was no third ending I could think of. He thought of one though. Pushing me. He used the last of his energy to throw me forward, only this time I didn't catch the ledge. I fell with him, watching utter disappointment fill his eyes, he failed.

Both of our lives hung in the balance. I didn't really feel like I was falling but I closed my eyes because I didn't want to see our end. It should've come moments ago and yet the rock cliffs continued to grow around us. I dared to open my eyes only to see the same park I'd been in 20 minutes ago; only now I found myself sat on the grass. There was not even a ghost of my friend left, he was gone and he was not coming back.

All the people around me seemed to be suffering similar pain. Some held utter paralysing fear in their eyes while others just ran. No one was safe. Maybe my scenario hadn't lasted as long as everyone's else's. Now was my chance to try to help, to finally do something good. There was only one thing I knew bad guys had in common. They attacked the place with the highest population so it was a pretty safe bet for me to go to where all the modern buildings symbolised to be just that. Maybe I didn't need weapons or to really consider the situation. I just needed to get the damn screams to go away, my people had made the same sound.

Villains really weren't that great at blending in. I understood that the whole point was to take responsibility for their despicable actions but there were literally only a group of people not screaming. A few menacing figures gathered around them while an intense staring match was going on. A closer look revealed something slightly more terrifying. A little kid seemed to be trying to help. I went to run closer to give him some backup when the screaming stopped. I was only a few steps away and apparently appeared more menacing than I'd first thought. Next thing I knew, the kid was shouting bloody murder and phones were whipped out.
"Leave my mummy alone!" The kid had guts, and apparently a good voice box, I had to give him that.

I couldn't just let this guy roam the streets. When he caught my eye, I just saw the same fear I had in anyone else, I faltered. I could just about see how glassy his eyes were from where I was, they seemed to blend in with the colour of the sky, even when it slightly changed. I only blinked, and he was just gone. I searched the sea of cameras and faces but nothing. What was this planet?