Army of Me

Unfamiliar

I was sprinting past various abandoned buildings. Blood was splattered on some as if someone was shot there. My hair was whipping back as well as my skirt, and my eyes watered by the wind hitting them with a lot of force.

People were chasing my from town to town for some reason. I felt out of breath, but I knew I couldn't stop. I couldn't stop until I knew they were gone.

I haven't heard them for about a mile now, so I stopped in this small, dark alley. Dumpsters were filled with what looked like dead, bloody bodies. Garbage bags were laying on the ground with bad food toppling over to about the middle of the alley's concrete floor.

Rats realized that they weren't alone, so they ran to hide. On any other day, I couldn't been scared to be that close to them, but right now wasn't the time to get scared at the meaningless things.

When I saw an empty spot in the alley, I fell in it. Tears were falling from my face almost in just a strip of water, and I couldn't breath. I felt as if my heart was about to stop and I was just laying there, almost dead.

"Celeste." A voice whispered in my ear. I felt that it was screaming though. I screamed in a frightened tone. "Celeste, please. Please wake up."

I didn't do anything that time. The voice didn't seem as loud, and everything looked brighter. "Is this what it feels like to die?" I asked myself.

Then I woke up.

~~~~~~

My eyes opened to looking at Clara. She was sleeping in the chair next to me. Her brown hair was in a high bun and it looked like she did her makeup.

She was leaned back in a green recliner with a blanket over her legs. I could see her shoes next to her seat, meaning she's been here for a while and she wasn't happy about it.

"Clara." I tried to say. "Mother." I said a little louder.

Her head twitched then I saw her eyes opened. "You're finally awake." She said in a tired tone. "And you called me mother."

"What happened?" I ignored her second sentence. It wasn't very often that I called her mother.

I think she let me stretch before she answered. "I'm not exactly sure." she finally answered. "I'll go ask a nurse." she slipped on her shoes and walked out.

I finally looked to the other side of me to see Sophie writing in her usual notebook.

She was sitting in a chair identical to the other one. Her fire red hair hung low, and her bangs were in her face, hiding it.

"How long was I out?" I asked, now used to talking again.

Sophie looked up and said, "A couple days." she closed her notebook and slipped it in her bag. "I'm not sure what happened either. Your mom said you didn't wake up from falling in the kitchen. It was quite early in the morning. She said that you were almost possessed. It was scary just hearing about it."

"I don't even remember getting out of bed."

"The doctors said its nothing serious. Your brain had a signal that was missed somehow and you body just went on auto-pilot. They also said you can go home after you wake up and you can eat regularly."

I nodded. "Thank you."

"Look on the table." She pointed to the corner to the left of me. "Ryder stopped by and stayed at the night. I got here this morning and told him to go home. You should text him and tell him your awake."

I nodded again and picked up my phone, which happened to be only a couple inches from my hand. Once I lifted my hand I was already tired. It seemed like forever that I've lifted anything.

When I finally got my phone I put in my password, and immediately checked my messages. There were two messages saying that my phone needed to be paid, and that it was paid.

Right after that, I went to my contacts, and found Ryder's number.

Hey Ryder. I'm awake now, so you can come see me. c:

About a moment after I sent it, there was a reply.

Are you really up? :D

Come up here and find out. :3

I couldn't bear my excitement, so I was smiling almost constantly.

"Is he on his way?" Sophie asked.

"I believe so." I brightly said.

Before Sophie could say anything else, the door opened. I saw my mother and an older woman just behind her.

The woman had very visible wrinkles on her face and neck, and her hair was really short and grey. She wore plain green scrubs with a patch on the right sleeve, which said, "St. Marks Hospital"

"Well, well." the woman said. "Good morning sunshine." she smiled.

I tried to giggle, but it hurt. "Hello." I just smiled.

"I understand that you'd like to know all about Mrs. Lyoid?"

"Yes." Clara said before I could answer.

"Well, we're going to keep you for one more night to make sure you're okay, and if you are then we will make sure you can keep down foods alright, and you will be walking the halls."

"Busy day." Sophie chuckled.

"Do you know what happened?" I asked.

"You just passed out for a couple days." She walked closer, "You're probably curious about the cause of it, and our guess is that since Germany has been bombing countries lately, there's been a lot of smoke in the air. The air may have gotten to you worse than others."

"Did it affect anything vital?"

"Your immune system hasn't been working right from you sleeping a lot, but that's something that can easily be fixed. Other than that, nothing vital."

"Thank you." I smiled again.

"You're so very welcome." she smiled back. "I'm going to go call your doctor and tell him that you are awake and responsive. Would you like some Jello too? It helps regulate your metabolism."

"Sure."

"Okay, I should be back within ten to fifteen minutes." and with that, the nurse was gone.

We sat in silence until Ryder walked in. His bright green eyes lit up with joy, and he obviously wanted to hug me, but he held back. To avoid any embarrassment, he tousled his brown hair. It made me blush.

"Hey sleepyhead." he grinned. "How'd you sleep?"

"Pretty good." I laughed.

"We have a lot to catch up on." he said. "Like, school."

"Why haven't you been in school?"

"I was too busy."

"Doing what?"

He stopped for a moment, almost like he was waiting for someone else to talk. Then he realized that the spotlight was on him. "Worrying about you."

I couldn't hold back my smile. It made me feel a lot better.

"Can I talk to her alone for a couple minutes?" Ryder asked the others.

"Take your time." Sophie got up and rushed herself as well as my mother out the door.

When the door closed, I felt as if things would get heavy. But it didn't. Ryder sat in the chair closest to me and held my hand.

For the longest time, I told myself I wouldn't be alone or close with another guy. Yet, here I am. Alone, and close to Ryder.

~~~~~~

Ohhhh, what will happen with Celeste and Ryder? ;o

Wait until the next chapter to find out! :D