The Rift

Chapter 21

I watched Brooke go, my hand still raised in the air as she faded from sight. The tears fell from my eyes, landing without a sound on the soft grass. I sank to my knees, my sobs echoing around the empty trees. I curled up in a ball, my head on my knees, and I cried.

I missed her already. I thought I would die the first time she left. I was so sad, and then she came back. I was happy and all, but she shouldn’t have. She’d have been doing better if she could just forget me. It’s be doing better if I could just forget her.

And I’d better forget her now. She’s not coming back. And I’ll be alone again. Forever.

The thought brings me to my feet. I wipe the tears from my eyes with the collar of my dress, taking deep breaths to soothe my breathing. Calm myself down so that I can think.

I can’t stay here. I’ve been stuck here, dead, for so long now. I can barely remember anything other than the dark, dangerous world outside, and the little valley I created for myself. I barely remember my old life, my family, fresh air, what real sunlight felt like against your face. And it would only get worse.

I didn’t want to spend forever here. I didn’t want to spend forever watching people get sucked into the Rift. I hated it here, connected to The Rift. It’s the weirdest sensation, being connected to The Rift. Feeling what it felt, seeing all it’s thought. And it saw all for mine. It was like having another, sinister mind, one that you couldn’t see. Although it could see me. It drove me crazy, having that thing in my head. I didn’t want to spend forever like this.

I walked over to the willow trees, stepping out of my sanctuary. Outside, I smiled. The Rift had lost its forest disguise, and had gone back to its natural state, waiting for another victim, so it could change to another place, tailored to that unlucky person. It, like me, knew that Brooklyn wasn’t coming back, so there was no point in keeping that disguise.

Now, it was empty. Flat, grey ground, stretching out as far as you could see. In this distance, the shape of the door was visible, a small brown speck on the horizon. He sky as the exact same color as the ground, a bleak, lifeless grey, with no sun, moon, or clouds. The ground had thin lines of black crisscrossing along it, as far as the eyes could see.

This place was sad, and empty. I didn’t want to spend the rest of my death here. I started walking. To where, I didn’t know. But I had to go somewhere. I had never tried walking too far out. I had always stayed near, in case Brooke showed up. But now, she wouldn’t show up again. So I could wander as far as I pleased.

I could feel The Rift thinking, plotting, searching for another innocent victim, somewhere in the world. I pushed it out of my head, focusing on the desolate landscape in front of me. I normally tried to ignore The Rift. My footsteps echoed in the silence. My breath was visible, it was obviously cold here but I couldn’t feel the cold at al. nothing here affected me anymore.

I came up to the door, standing next to its smoothing carved surface, with bright images of beautiful places. The carvings were changing, as they were individual for each person. Brooke saw the jungle, hummingbirds and flowers. I saw a beach, with palm trees and shells.

I remember when I had first come to it. I had been so curious, so happy that something interesting was finally happening in my life, that I opened the door. And I spent the rest of the night at my grandmother’s beach house, playing in the sand. When I woke up, I had never been happier.

Things only went downhill from there.

My grandmother died. I felt like a part of me was missing, the day we went to collect the stuff from her house. The house seemed to empty and sad in real life, without her. But in my dreams, it was comforting and nice. I liked it better there. And I hated it more in the real world.