Paper Birds

Chapter Forty-One ; The Torment Epidemic Commences

"Run 'til your feet hurt, run 'til your lungs burst, run 'til your heart bleeds!" they shouted, morbid cackles of laughter filling the night.

Bang, bang, bang!

She fell, her shattered dreams collapsing on cold cement. She wasn't touched by a bullet. She was touched by the fear of being touched by a bullet.

Flash. Flash. Flash.

"Can I kiss you?"

She nodded. At the time, she was sure he'd be her one and only. Her first kiss.

All good things must come to an end.

Flash. Flash. Flash.

"Hey there, Delilah, you be good and don't you miss me."

He laughs warmly and turns to her, his guitar resting on his knee. "Was that any good?"

She nods eagerly. The phone rings.

He answers.

His loving smile disappears for a very long time.

Flash. Flash. Flash.

Hazel eyes.

They lay wide open. His chest isn't moving. Nothing is.

The last thing he had heard was, "He's just a kid!"

They were all just kids.

Flash. Flash. Flash. 

Green eyes.

That was her first thought. She knew who those green eyes belonged to, but she would never tell.

Green Eyes had her pinned down to the ground. She struggled, but it did no good. He held the gun against her head, moved to it his mouth and

Bang, now he's dead.

She kept running.

When I woke up, I was really sweaty. And being blinded by a white light. And being rained on.

I blinked rapidly and sat up, rubbing a sore spot on my back. It took me a moment to recognize where I was.

I was outside on the sidewalk right outside my apartment building.

"What the heck?" I mumbled, feeling a mix of shock, anger, and confusion. I sniffed and rubbed my nose with the back of my hand, a huge smear of blood coming off of it.

My chest was still heaving from my nightmare. I was in mortal terror, sitting there alone in the rain, not having a clue to what just happened. On top of it all, my nose was bleeding.

After sitting there for at least a half hour, drenched in cold rain, trying to get my wits about me, I made my way dizzily back to my apartment. I slipped into bed, still in shock. What had happened? Someone was chasing me. Dylan died. Flashbacks of Jared still haunting me. When I thought of Harry, I started to hyperventilate against my will. Then I started crying, sobs racking my spine for another ten minutes straight.

After I calmed down a little bit, I lowered myself into my bed. I felt around under my pillow.

My gun was gone.

I burst up from the bed, searching around wildly under my bed, tearing off the sheets, everywhere. A trickle of bright red caught my attention.

I followed it into the kitchen. Sure enough, my gun lay on the granite countertop followed by drops of blood. The cupboards were open, various items strewn across the room.