Slipping Away From This World

Chapter 7

 I dreamt vividly that night. The dream started with me walking down an empty road. It was flooded, my ankles soaked in a thick layer of water. As I kept shuffling down the road, hail started to rain down on me. I winced and protected my head with my arms, feeling hard chunks of ice hit my skin with an icy burn. I started to run, but I couldn't make my feet move fast enough. I moved at a slow, jogging pace. The road seemed to continue forever. I suddenly came to a stop upon seeing a silhouette somewhere up ahead on the road. A sense of dread filled my heart. I shuffled forward, the hail still piercing at my body. I came to a stop a few feet away from the figure.

My heart stopped.

A faceless corpse laid in the middle of the road. They wore a long black cloak. Maggots had started to eat at the carcass. The smell of rot and death hit my nose. I started to stagger backwards, clutching at my nose. I hit something soft. I turned around slowly.

One of the grey women stood there, her lips curved into a sneer. My lip quivered. I took a few steps back, only to feel my feet hit something. I spun around. My foot rested on the corpse. Maggots started to wiggle and crawl towards my ankle. I let out a scream and lept over the body, sprinting further down the road. I came face to face with another of the women. She growled and held up a tiny, rectangular blade. I started to gasp for breath, my body filled with panic. I was suddenly knocked to the ground. I glanced up at my attacker. The crying women crouched over me, her tears falling on my skin. She mouthed the words "I'm sorry," before she wrapped her hands around my neck. She started to strangle me, her fingers closing around my neck. I kicked at her and scratched at her to no avail. I let out a choked cry before I shut my eyes, waiting for all of it to end.

I woke up with a jolt, sitting up straight in bed. I gasped for air, as if I was still being choked. I rubbed at my neck, assuring myself that there were no hands or fingers there. I held a hand to my heart. Rae started to stir. She mumbled something before cracking an eye open. I quickly glanced at the window. It was early in the morning, the sun peeking up from behind the horizon, the sky a mix of yellow and orange. I turned back to Rae, who was still shifting around in bed. She sat up slowly, mumbling under her breath. She closed both of her eyes and rested her head on my shoulder. "Is it morning yet?" She muttered, her voice tired and soft. "Yeah," I said. Rae raised her head and yawned. She stumbled out of bed and started to rifle around in her suitcase, which she had tucked under the bed. She grabbed a set of clothes and went behind the divider. I stood up and made the bed, straightening out the covers with care.

The two of us got dressed, Rae in a pale blue dress and me in a black dress with a ground-length green apron. We packed up our belongings and went next door, where Wane was already ready and waiting for us. He ushered us outside and into the cart. He untied the horses and gave them a few handfuls of oats to eat. After feeding them, he hopped up onto his ledge and grabbed onto the reins. The horses let out a chorus of whinnies before running forward, pulling the carts through the streets at a rapid pace. I held onto the sides of the cart as it jostled me around. We rumbled down the streets before we came to a stop in front of Lily's house. Rae started to search through one of the bags that had been thrown onto the cart's bed before delicately pulling out the two dresses. Rae lept from the cart. "I'll take them to her, you two can stay out here!" Rae hollered as she skipped off, the two folded gowns tucked away in the crook of her elbow. I watched her as she bounced around, filled with an impressive amount of energy. A small smile graced my face for a moment as she jumped up to ring the angel bell, slapping the white surface with the palm of her hand. A servant hurried to the door and received the dresses. Rae beamed as she shut the door behind her. She strolled over to the cart and hopped back in. She climbed over me to get to her seat and plopped down, tapping her boots against the cart's bed floor. Wane glanced over his shoulder to check on us before he had the horses start to move again.