The Girl With The Crimson Eyes

48: Shadow Of Angels

Remnya

Pale lamp posts covered by moths flashed before Remnya's eyes as she floated through the cold waters of her dreams. In the distance, a hollow moon followed her journey along with its faint stars. The breeze against her hair and skin reminded her she was still alive, yet she couldn't tell whether it was real or another illusion.

As the senses of her body slowly returned, Remnya felt a presence looming over her. Someone carried her in their arms and dragged her toward the unknown. Powerless, a weight oppressed Remnya's chest as if a massive rock had dropped on her, but numb like a doll, she couldn't turn her head to discover who owned her fate.

Silhouettes emerged among the darkness of an empty street, and from behind the shadows, lifeless pupils watched her steps, gloomy stares that vanished into nothingness.

Remnya managed to discern the broken faces of strangers, lingering in the night like wandering ghosts. As the remnants of society, homeless people were scattered on every corner. A large bunch gathered around an abandoned store, sharing syringes and substances. Others lay still on the sidewalk, alive or dead, she didn't know, but their eyes begged for mercy.

Crossing an alley, the faces of a misfit made her shiver. He stood next to a faceless woman and smoked from a pipe. They murmured something, but she couldn't decipher their words.

Feeling her soul trying to escape her body, Remnya saw the world spinning around her, but before she could understand her fate, consciousness left her body again.

Void and silence.

The reality turned into a dreadful game where her mind was her only enemy, tricking her into truths and lies. Remnya couldn't differentiate life from death, dreams from nightmares; everything was a puzzle of emotions battling to win over her broken soul.

Run East and never stop.

Voices echoed in the distance, but deprived of her senses, Remnya couldn't understand them. They drilled her brain over and over for minutes, hours, or perhaps days.

She knew nothing.

At one point, her heart finally rested, and the shadows from the past gave her a break.

Run East and never stop.

In the middle of a void, Remnya opened her eyes.

Her ears buzzed, and her blurry vision turned into an incandescent white glow burning her pupils. She squinted and blinked several times until her surroundings began to make sense. The first thing she saw was her own body lying on a bed, covered by a green blanket, and an intravenous line injected into her left arm.

A pungent odor of alcohol filled her nose, making her flinch while the beep of a machine echoed in the back of her head. The next thing she witnessed was the large room around her and the fluorescent lights flickering on a cracked ceiling.

"I'm glad you're awake, Rem," a soothing female's voice said.

Remnya turned to her right and lifted her eyes to find a pale lady standing by her side. She wore a white doctor's coat, and thick-rimmed glasses hid her gray eyes. Her pale beige hair touched her shoulders as her lips twisted into a smile.

No way.

It cannot be her.

"Ellyn?" Remnya murmured, her dry lips barely moving.

The woman said nothing and rushed to her side, wrapping her into a warm embrace. Sobs filled Remnya's ears and triggered a hurricane of memories in her mind. Even that obnoxious vanilla perfume hadn't changed at all.