Gehenna's Gate

Euclid

How long had it been, now? She'd been walking aimlessly for hours. Her phone had been turned off long ago, unable to handle the incessant buzzing constantly coming from her pocket, only further distracting her from her thoughts.

Instead of the bathroom, she'd chosen the front door. Nobody noticed her slip out because of how packed with people the place had been. Of course, she'd gone to pee first, making sure to never tell her best friend a lie. Sure, maybe she'd omitted the part about leaving after the bathroom break.

But still, a lie hadn't been told. At least, that's how she justified it in her mind.

Her skin felt like she was covered in ants, needing to sprint a mile in a minute, unable to stand another moment seated at that booth trying to act like everything felt right.

It didn't. It was terrifying, and she wanted to run, hide, disappear from the very face of the earth and drift into oblivion. To be forgotten, have everyone go on as if she'd never even existed. It would be easier that way, for everyone, they just didn't want to admit it.

Why had they chosen those songs? Not only ones she knew, but ones that felt far too close to home to be a pure coincidence. Those were love songs, practically. Confessions of deep and intimate feelings, things she never dared admit or agree with aloud. It was all too... vulnerable. Why would he want to express such feelings? About her too? Some part of her believed it all to be a lie, a clever little ruse to get her to let her guard down and trust him wholeheartedly.

A display like this demanded a response in return, and that was something she just couldn't give. While her mind can drift and sometimes think those thoughts, her mouth wouldn't dare let her utter the words, freezing her tongue solid on the spot before she could get anywhere close to admitting such raw emotion.

Her mind would never let her indulge in something that allowed her walls to be taken down, defenses gone and emotions laid bare on a silver platter for another being. The thought was something straight out of her worst nightmares.

There were no other options than to run. She could figure out the details later, but for now, one foot kept marching in front of the next, moving forward without any other thought, as if she was simply running on instinct.

Her mind felt hazy, panic clutching around her heart like a snake, each beat painful and sore.

At least it wasn't storming tonight. Thankfully, only a gentle mist fell from the clouds above, a dark fog clouding the areas around, concealing everything within a few feet in front of her.

For a while, she simply trudged along the concrete sidewalk with no destination in sight, an adventure she often indulged in whenever something triggered such a strong emotional response within her.

Vena had never known how to truly process or deal with her own emotions. She'd always gotten so overwhelmed by the feelings, the physical symptoms that accompanied them, and ran for the hills in the opposite direction. If she faced it head on, it always ended in sobbing for hours on end until her voice gave out.

Running was easier. Forcing herself forward until the numbness set in and her body could relax, her mind pushing whatever she'd experienced back into the farthest corner of her mind because she couldn't bear to face it.

Logic didn't matter here. Rational thought was something that didn't exist in this state. Just a pure and raw instinct to survive and keep moving. The fight or flight response, but instead of ever putting up a fight, she always chose to run.

It was quiet, and dark. The light misty rain felt good on her exposed skin, helping her cool down and relax. The weather here always had a way of calming her down too. Something about the rain and grey clouds always gave her a sense of comfort.