I gathered all my courage, surveyed the space between the tree and I, and jumped.
It was as if I was flying, the loss of gravity was breathtaking. Everything faded... I saw myself plummeting to the ground... was this what it felt like to die? Despite myself I felt the muscles in my face pulling my mouth to form a grim smile, for once the voices had disappeared completely and I knew, the moment I re-entered my body, they would flood me again and this moment of silence would haunt me for the rest of my pathetic, lonely life... I knew I would re-enter my body, for I had to, You have to warn them... He's coming... for you and them... everybody you know will be in danger, Disaster and blood following you until your death... A field of bodies, you'll walk with the dead. The Living Dead...
A terrible pain shot through my body as I was pulled back into my body. Automatically, I winced at the force in which the voices slammed into my ears, then all the air flew out of lungs as I was hit in the stomach with a tree branch... wait, wasn't I falling about two feet away from the tree? Clinging to the branch like a lifeline, I dropped down onto the branch below, feeling the rough bark under my feet...
Slowly making my way down to the ground, the noise came back to my ears, there were no sounds left now but crackling as the building slowly but surely burnt to the ground. Surprisingly my eyes prickled with unshed tears for the only home I had ever known... I sighed... YOU HAVE TO MOVE! "Oh yay... another new voice..." I thought and internally rolled my eyes. Standing up, I saw the garden standing tall around me, somehow it wasn't quite as magical standing inside it as I had imagined... I had imagined some sort of holiness in it... but after all that dreaming, imagining what kind of holiness must be sequesteredwithin, it was surprisingly ordinary. There was nothing in here that wasn't in every other garden in the country. Suddenly, loss hit me in waves... no matter how cruel they had been they had raised me... I broke out into a run, hoping to run away from the nunnery, my past, my inevitable and bloody future.
I ran until I couldn't run anymore, screaming following me, as if when I walked past a house, the inhabitants were hit by the same disaster as the nuns... I didn't doubt that they were... not for one minute... and what did the voice mean by the Living Dead? Frowning I climbed up a nearby tree, settled myself and attempted to get warm. More importantly, how was I going to survive in the wilderness? Without food, shelter or warmth? Hunching down I settled myself on a wide branch readying myself for a long night in the cold.
Awaking from a night of cold, loneliness and... rest,surprisingly. I sat up, clinging to the branch as I regained my balance. Surveying my surroundings, I was relieved to find myself in a lonely field, baldes of grass trembling in the gentle breeze, there was not a soul on the horizon, thankfully. I sighed "the loneliness is worth it, think of the lives you'll save if you stay this way... nobody else will die, I will make sure of it." I thought absentmindedly.
The voices rose in volume, for once I was glad they were there... they were now my only companions, for they were already dead. Dropping to the ground, I curled my toes in the turf under my feet. How far had I ran? I didn't recognise this place. Tilting my head I saw a group of trees clustered around a small brick chimney, my heart dropped, if I was correct, I was on their land and, surely the occupants would be coming out soon, it may be everything I needed to survive. But the risk was too great. I clenched my fists, digging the nails into my palms, leaving distinct, red rimmed crescent shaped marks on the skin. I would have to leave, I couldn't risk the occupant's lives just for the growling in my stomach, surely, I would find something to appease it soon. Preferably something that couldn't speak... that couldn't be harmed by the curse I carried swathed around me like the deadliest fog.
Blinking a few times, I quickly span on my heel as a young girl, around my age emerged from the trees. Running, once more, away from people and general idyllic life. Realisation struck me with the impact of a lightning bolt, making me stumble and collapse to my knees on the dirt track I had been running along. The nuns had been right, I was evil of the worst kind, the events of the previous night had confirmed that. Images of the nun's fate filled my head. I shook them away, I had to concentrate all my energy on my surroundings. Listening for signs of human occupation, ensuring I was alone.
It was almost as if I had been preparing myself for this occasion my whole life. I did not crave human company as I should have.
Many days passed, running, hiding became a second nature to me. I ate game when I was hungry, drank whenever I had the need. Slowly, day by day, I became wild. An animal, the voices continued to speak. There was no word from the only voice I longed to hear. No help whatsoever, some evenings, I found myself talking back to them. If anyone crossed my path, which they didn't, I made sure of it, they would have seen a young girl, Emerald green eyes glazed, Filthy from the crown of her head to the tips of her toes. Mumbling to herself. They would have thought this girl to be an Asylum escapee and have called the closest Mental hospital immediately to collect its patient.
Reality came back to me in flashes, in the most peculiar moments, such as in seeing my reflection in a river or stream. Or as I was hunting down some small animal or completing some other task. The madness consumed me seconds after I had regained rational thought. One lonely night, the voice spoke to me. The voice I had been waiting for, "The curse can be broken... Death must find life... it has been awaiting the reunion these sixteen years... It grows restless... Ask its help... it will guide you to the solution..."
Gasping, I was lurched back to sanity, I was able to think clearly for the first time in weeks. It was neither a blessing, nor a curse. It was nothing compared to the shock I felt at being ripped from the place I had been in, I was obliged to think of it as bliss, close to heaven, even. Now thoughts were crowding my head, driving me to the brink of the very essence of myself. I had to gather my thoughts... banish the fear of submerging into madness once more... Scrambling up ivy vines to reach the ledge sticking out of a cliff face I had somehow found myself at the base of, reaching my goal I settled onto it. Basking in the warm sunlight pouring out of cotton white clouds, I admired the deep blue sky beyond them... wishing I was one of the swallows chirping and diving through the clouds...
