Something Familiar

Part II: Mel - The Song

The bustle of the city as she pushed her way through the crowded streets was a distraction that she did not have the time to pursue; she was nearly there. As she crossed the street a raspy whispering voice wriggled it's way into her ear and vibrated uncomfortably down her spine. She had never heard it so close, and it made her quicken her pace. Long and swift steps made her appear self assured but her hands trembled as she clumsily dug into her pockets, expecting to find them empty. 

Instead, her fingers had closed around something unfamiliar to her. She pulled out the item, a small black and red scrap of cloth, sturdy and tattered, and yet still soft to the touch. Stopping short in the middle of the sidewalk, she thoughtfully grazed the cloth with her hand and wondered where it could have come from. 

Sliding it between her fingers, she felt a sudden sense of dread. From the cloth and onto her fingers came a deep dark red stain, warm and sticky. Blood that wasn't hers, but made her heart cry out just the same. The deafening caw of a spectating owl that had been on the street lamp nearest her tore her out of the frightened stupor that had overcome her body, as a sinister green light  flashed in the distance.

She gasped and crumpled to the ground as she felt the air being violently ripped from her lungs, "No, please-"

She looked on in horror as the city became desolate where engulfed in the ghostly green flames. In mere moments, streets that were filled with life became littered with lifeless bodies. The owl's body, now a decaying husk, had fallen to the ground but continued to shriek. 

She felt her lungs shrink as she struggled to take in her last breath.

 The owl rotated it's head completely so that she was staring into its vacant eye sockets, "Dark times are coming." 

The flames had reached her now, the gripping sting of its poison burning her skin as the grating voice returned once again, this time louder. She squinted towards a dark figure that had suddenly appeared in the distance, cloaked by the thick smoke and blurry from the tears that stung her eyes. She strained to focus on clearing her vision, but felt an abrupt and complete exhaustion wash over her body. She sighed, whimpering as the fatigue took over her weakened body. When her heart stopped, so did everything else.

The darkness was all that remained.

Suddenly waking up out of breath and drenched in sweat, she wiped the tears away from her eyes. She dried the sweat from her hands onto the blanket and clasped them tightly together to stop them from shaking, a habit that she had acquired in the past three months since the dreams started. The dream had never felt so real before, and the cloaked figure was new too. She sighed and rubbed her eyes, trying to push the uneasy feeling out of her head. Checking the time on her bedside clock she cussed under her breath and got out of bed, throwing off her shirt and hopping out of her pajama bottoms. After a quick shower she grabbed her favorite pencil and paper, sitting on the windowsill bench that had always inspired her to write.

After thirty minutes, she was a bit edgy. 

After an hour, she was feeling dejected.

After nearly two hours she wanted to bang her head against the wall.

She ran a hand through her short dark hair with a sigh, looking out of the window of the  small apartment she shared with two of her band mates. She tapped her pencil restlessly against the blank notepad, wracking her brain for the words that had continually escaped the grasp of her mind for the past few months.

Clenching the pencil and looking back to the thin paper, she stared hard at it until the clear lines became blurred. She had never been so completely lost before when it came to her music. Her frustrated groan broke the silence that had settled over the small room as she let her pencil and pad fall to the floor.