Scars Bleed Gold

One Of Us

"Wait, I'm a what?!" I twisted my head around, barely legible from my peripherals was the designation stamped on my back.

"They did not put one of those things in here with me! I lasted too long for this! You keep back!" He scrambled back on his cot, his back against the concrete wall as he tried to remain as far from me as possible.

"Oi, chill!" More interested in the show in front of me I crossed a leg and sat patiently, watching as he freaked out working himself up more and more. He kept panicking before finally stopping as he realized I was just sitting there. "You done yet? I won't suck your eyeballs out or anything, okay?"

"Then what's your deal?! You ain't get that suit for nothing! You should be up in your own cell!"

"I just made the wrong friend, I guess. Nothing more to it, she's dead now."

He relaxed slightly as I let my head drop with a sigh. "She'd be the lucky one then, pal. Least she ain't here."

"Lucky. Call me selfish, but I just wish she was breathing."

"Worse ways to go, though, keep that in your noggin. How'd you-"

"I'm not in the mood to talk about it." I laid down on the cot and flipped to face the wall, shutting my eyes tight. I didn't even want him to finish that sentence. He huffed behind me.

"Right, yeah. You just got here, makes sense. Hafta acclimate and all." He mumbled as he seemingly followed suite. The sounds outside of the cell echoed off of the walls. Screams, yells, howls, unidentifiable sounds of all types. Even the occasional gunshot accompanied by foreign swearing. Eventually his snoring joined the chorus. Sleep seemed more impossible by the second, as if everything on my mind wasn't making it hard enough before finally, everything just melted away.

My eyes were suddenly forced open with a bright flash of blinding pearly light. I stood in front of a mirror. I looked happy. Well groomed. A wide grin on my face that nothing could wipe off.

"Dude, you coming? People are hungry!"

"Gimme a second!" I called back. The grin still remained, but my voice seemed hollow. Empty. No emotion whatsoever, completely unlike the happy-go-lucky smile plastered onto me. Tearing away from my reflection I carried the platter of food outside after Gannyn, setting it down just as he sat. A long picnic table was adorned with food of all kinds, platters big and small. The assortment was all over the place, now including my plate of spicy wings.

"You gonna sit or gawk?" Gannyn asked, a big grin on his face as well. He gestured to the head of the table; a simple wooden chair awaited my rear end. I glided into the seat, finally taking a good look down the table.

Gannyn and Meghan sat on one side, laughing while one tried to feed the other.

My half-brother and father sat across from each other, closer to me. They were deep in discussion.

At the other end of the table sat Mal, a large helping of ramen before her. She grinned and waved joyfully at me before Nahla jumped onto her lap, tail going wild. Everyone was laughing at the two. A small gathering, but close-knit. It was perfect, everyone happy, eating well, enjoying themselves and each other.

A wave of uneasiness washed over me. Nothing seemed right. Like I was looking at the world through a filter. I tried to get up. I couldn't budge. I looked down, tried to force myself up as I was glued to the lawn chair. My body wouldn't listen to me. Get up. Get up!

'Come on! Somebody help!' I tried to say. Nothing came out. I looked up for someone, but they were all gone. The plates were empty and void, as if picked clean by buzzards. Each chair sat vacant, gathering dust. Aside from the one opposite mine.