Shadows

Blue

I inhale sharply and open my eyes. Everything is blurry and my ears ring. I can feel my blanket underneath my body. My hands pat around me, my eyes search the empty room. 

There's an old dresser in the corner of the dark blue room. A ray from the window shines on a picture frame. I raise myself up, and my feet touch the cold floor. I stand up too fast, my vision becomes black around the corners. I stumble over to  the picture and lean against the dresser. It's silent other than my breathing. 

With one hand, I brush the picture with my fingers. My fingers shake over the cold glass. There's a girl in the picture. Her hands hide her face. Her short brown hair is the only thing you can see of her. She sits on a bench with another kid. His arm is around her shoulders. He grins to the camera. 

I pick up the picture and allow myself to slide into the floor. 

The girl..... 

She looks familiar. It couldn't be her. There isn't a way. This is my dad's house. He can't...

I hear footsteps coming down to the room. My heart speeds up. I hide the picture behind me and prepare myself. 

My father peers around the door. His beard his slightly gray, and his hair is slowly disappearing.

"Hey you lil' fucker. It's about time you woke your ass up." His eyebrows raise and he scratches the rest of his hair. 

 "Yeah," I breathe. "How did I get here? I was just at school.." I say, confused. 

His eyebrows knit together, "You don't remember? They said after Mrs. Adams told you to go to the nurse you freaked out and started running. The bell rung for the next class, you went bat-shit crazy, started screaming and passed out." He gestures with his hands, "Probably got something that was laced with the wrong thing, is what I think. Just watch yourself. I don't want to have another one of these shits to come here complaining that my son is psycho, okay?"

My mind replays what happened at school. The demons, the people running after me. Their eyes, the blood running out their noses. I shake my head, "No... No, Dad. That's not what happened. They were... They were trying to kill me. They were chasing after me-" My voice become louder and cracks. 

"Ah, shit, son. I'm telling you, you got something bad. Probably from your friend Pat. Oh, that reminds me. I heard that he choked the shit out of you. Now, I told you that you need to learn how to fight," He leans against the doorway and shakes his head while looking at me. "Hey, make some more deals will you? If you're gonna stay here again, you aren't doing it for free." 

"Yeah, okay," I sigh and grip the picture behind me. He turns to walk out as I pull out the picture from behind me. I would like to ask him about it, but knowing my luck I'm imagining it. 

I swallow and raise myself up from the floor. My body feels sore and weak. I turn and crack my neck. The sound echoes and I rub my throat. I'm still in pain from Pat. 

I glance at the picture again and blink. She's still there. I pay attention to the boy this time. He's young, around ten. His blond hair is up in spikes. My guess is that she was at a family reunion when this was taken. Or maybe it was Easter? It's apart of her life frozen in one picture.

In that moment did she know what she was going to do to herself? Did God have a plan for her to ruin her life? Or mine? 

Tears suddenly flood my eyes and I shake my head. I bite my lip as my hand grips the picture. Emotions take over me and I begin to shake. 

I through the frame again the wall. It hits with a bang, then falls. The glass shatters with impact and runs across the floor. My eyes move from the picture to the wall. There's a dent into the drywall. 

"Anderson! There isn't anything there, stop attacking it!" My dad's voice roars. 

I wipe my face with the back of my hand. I'm still shaking like I've been out in the cold. I take deep breaths and try to calm myself down. It doesn't help. My chest begins to race up and down and my head becomes cloudy. 

I have to get out of here. 

My feet carry myself down the hallway and out the door. I can feel the energy drain out of me as I run. 

I can faintly hear my dad's voice behind me, but it starts to fade as whispers come in. The cold air hits my face as I'm outside. I continue to push myself and watch the greenery pass me.  

Through the corner of my eye, I see figures run past me. They're all blurry from crying. Black spots standing six feet tall. 

Suddenly my foot hits the back of my leg and I fall. Terrified, I hide myself behind my arms. I know it's childish, and me closing my eyes does nothing to stop it. I feel something tug on my arm lightly. It's touch is cold, and fades just as fast as it comes. 

"Please.." I whisper, squeezing my eyes shut. I don't know whether to get up and move or not. I'm so afraid of these things. 

I think I'm crazy.

Another tug on my arm. This time my hand is yanked to the ground, and I open my eyes to look. My eyes gaze down my arm. I can see how pale I've gotten and how my veins bulge through my skin. My eyes widen at the sight of my skin beginning to freeze. In the middle of my arm, there is a dark hand print. It's so cold in that area that it pulses with pain. I stretch my fingers, but I can't feel them anymore. 

I gulp and glance around me. There's nothing but the hand print. I'm in the middle of the woods, in the grave yard for dead trees. I gaze up at the sky and see the empty blue. I am terrified. 

I want to ask God for help. Yet I can't seem to find my voice. Instead I stare up as tears run down my face. The pain from my arm travels to my head. I cannot speak. 

I try to focus on thoughts, but they are fished out. I'm left with nothing but a shadow and a blue sky.