Evanescent

8

She opened her eyes, the light from the sun blinding her temporarily as she found herself in a pair of arms instead of splattered on the ground. She patted his arms, insisting that Orion set her down as she felt her face grow red. He seemed to contemplate her request for the quickest second before gently letting her slide out of his embrace and onto the worn cement.

"H-how did you not die?" She looked up at where he had just jumped from, the ledge sitting so far up she had to squint in order to properly recognize it, it was quite impossible that he could've survived that.

He merely shrugged, brushing his shirt off like he had not just defied logic and death all at once.

"Someone taught me." It was obviously another secret he was not willing to reveal to her eager ears.

"Who could've taught you that?" She exclaimed in disbelief, knowing she shouldn't pry but still too shaken up to stop herself from asking.

"An old friend." His eyes sparkled with that all too familiar sadness as he looked at her with that look that showed he wanted something from her, something she couldn't give him.

"Well where are we?" She changed the subject, finally regaining her senses, it wasn't right to question a past that made him so uncomfortable.

"This is where I wanted to take you, it's pretty life changing isn't it?"

Lifechanging wasn't Audelia's first thought when she took in her surroundings, the barren walls and littered streets odd, but not what she had expected. She'd pictured ornate towers, and delicate fields of flowers, things she'd only heard of through others never having the pleasure to experience herself. Audelia had never been outside of the cities boundaries, always forced to stay contained in the walls that crushed her lungs and beat her dreams. She remembered the days when she'd hear about the thick trees and prodded dirt that lay out of her reach, the envy of those who could escape causing her to fall into a spiral of bitterness. As disappointed as she was at her surroundings she could feel the difference in the air as she took the most cautious step forward. The trashed appearance contradicted the usual clean lines of the city so much that she had to blink to make sure what she was seeing was real.

"I guess that's one way to describe it." She was so caught up in the abandoned alley that she didn't notice as Orion came up behind her.

"I know it's not what you were expecting,but just try to understand," His eyes looked ahead as he was brought into a world that she wanted to be a part of.

Doors lined the walkway, the hinges rusted and paint chipped, she passed each one as a shiver ran down her spine. There was something so eerie about this place, the abandoned apartments and messy streets pushing into Audelia's mind.

Something pulled her into the depths of the alley, her feet moving so quickly her mind was not able to catch up. As she let herself fall deeper and deeper into the familiar feelings that flooded her entire frame she realized somehow that she knew this place, the racing of her heart evidence. She took in every detail that she could, inhaling the musty air and blinking away the terror that surrounded her. Torn scraps of molded food lined the sidewalks, forgotten and left behind. Shards of broken glass crunched underneath the weight of her shoes, the pointed edges digging into her leaving the most painful scars. She could see the shadows of the past along each turn, the figures of who once called this place home haunting her with each step.

"What is this place?" She choked out, the threatening scream of tears pounding against her eyelids. She kept herself together by the thinnest thread, her composure crumbling underneath the weight of reality as it all caught up with her.

"You tell me." He strided until he met her pace, his long legs making up for her lack of focus as she continued aimlessly walking, trying to find something that she couldn't remember. His words couldn't find a place in the logic of her mind, her head forcing her to go to a place she knew was dangerous.

"I-I don't understand." When she finally met the deadest of ends, the walls towering over her, suffocating her slowly, she finally allowed herself to take control of her words.

"Lia just try to remember," Once again she felt the pressure prod her thoughts, her head throbbing as he begged for the one thing she couldn't bring herself to do. She could picture the shacks and streets as they where once upon a time, the pictures so vivid she couldn't place what was the past and the present. Audelia was torn between a dream and the forces of reality, her heart not knowing what she should believe.