Shifting

Chapter One ~ The Great Escape

"So what are your plans for the weekend April?" A girl sits in front of me, teeth straight and white, cheeks rosy, blonde hair pulled into a tight bun, and brilliant blue eyes staring into mine. She seems to be waiting for something. But I don't know what exacatly she wants.

"Uh what?" is all I can manage. It seems my voice doesn't want to work.

"The weekend. Your plans? It's already Friday! You must have something planned!" This girl leans in closer to me, and I realize I don't even know who she is. I don't even know who I am... Or where I am let alone how I got here.

"Wh- Um I'm sorry but who are you? Where are we?" All these questions start to boil up inside me.

"What do you mean who am I? I'm your best-" My thoughts cut the girl off, my head in turmoil. It's one question after the other, and soon I can't tell what's real and what's in my head. I panic as visions of blood and war and horrendous beings biting and scraping at each other zoom through my mind. I scream, flailing my hands trying to shoo the visions away but they just get more intense. In my haste, I fall over.

I smell rotting flesh, not unlike a dead skunk, and see flies buzzing around a lump of red meat that almost resembles a human. I land on top of the once-human, and blood sprays across my face, my mouth flying open. I can't believe this is happening. I try to scramble up to get away from the rotting human, but I realize while stumbling around the single body has turned into a sea of rolling, tumbling intestines and bones.

"HELP ME!" I scream as I try to claw myself away from the bodies but it seems like the guts grab at me and pull me down, dragging me into them. Slowly, steadily, I hear the bodies chanting my real name.

"Phoenix... Phoenix... Phoenix, Phoenix, PHOENIX" The chanting grows louder and faster, I'm dragged into the bodies and as I reach up for that final breath of air, spoiled blood gushes into my mouth, the grotesque taste of rust and mold fill my whole being. I grasp for air, clawing at my throat, but just more and more blood rush in. As I slowly give in, losing so much air, choking and gagging, coming seconds away from death, I jerk awake.

My eyes take a split second to adjust, and I see my brother, Brink, leaning over me. His crazy curly brown hair falls in his face, giving him his eternal youth and devilish look. He has ahold of both my wrists in one hand, the other hand hovering over my mouth.

"Are you up?" he asks in a hushed whisper.

"For heavens sake yes I'm up! What are you thinking? I was dreaming I was dying!" I whisper scream this at him, and against my will tears flow from my eyes.

"Oh crap I'm sorry Blu I didn't know" He lets go of my wrists and hugs me. His calling me my secret nickname and hugging me calms me, so I laugh, pushing him off.

"Sorry you just scared me. What's up?" I sit up in bed and run my hands through my long, almost curly blue hair. Yes, it's blue. It's not a wig, and it's not colored. My parents say I was born with blue hair. I don't know if I fully believe that, but what else would explain it?

"Get ready we're going out." Brink gets up from my bed and starts to head out my bedroom door. "Meet me outside in the car" he whispers over his shoulder, and he slips away into the night.

'Again really? He knows I hate breaking the rules... But he also knows I can't stop myself from breaking them when I get the chance' I think to myself as I slump out of bed and shuffle to my closet.

I grab a shirt, zipper hoodie, and pants at random, as I try to remember what exactly it was in my dream that scared me so bad. I can't think of anything so I just give up on trying to remember. 'It will come to me eventually.'