The Plague Doctor ©

S a y i n g • G o o d b y e

The song changes to Goodbye Old Life by Seamless Beings as Cori and Sammy walk around the small public park in the center of the small town.

Her emerald eyes scan everywhere. Watching everything, studying everyone, "Guess people here aren't that friendly." She mumbles as people walk ten feet around her.

Cori's phone begins to play Haywire Hellfire by Mayhem Delight, which means her best friend, Reily, is calling. The name that pops up is Unicorn while the picture ID is a selfie of the two of them; Cori has a Halo while Reily has horns. The caption on the picture says; I'm With The Devil!

Both girls' are almost glowing from pure happiness.

"CORI! I WAS SO FUCKING WORRIED!" The girl who is still is in California screams in her high-pitched voice.

Cori cringes in pain as the voice is directly in her ears, "Rye!" Cori laughs, "I'm alive! I told you, my moms had to cancel our internet plan and our cell company." She sighs.

"But you didn't say you'd get a new number!" Reily growls out.

"Speaking of which," Cori walks along the path, talking into her headphones as Sammy sniffs everything, "It may be my old phone, but how did you get my new number! I've had it for less then a day!"

"Bitch, please!" Reily chirps, Cori can picture the Indian-American girl flopped on her bed, upside-down, talking into her phone, "You know I have mad stalking skills!"

Cori laughs loudly, gaining a few stares from strangers. It wasn't a lie; Reily could find out anything about anyone. It's one reason that Reily and Cori even met. But that's a story for another time.

The phone is pulled from Reily's hands quickly, startling her, "Hey!"

"Hola, mi amor, it's good to hear your voice, I was worried something happened." A semi-deep, heavily Hispanic accented voice says on the other line.

"Klane," Cori says happily, "It's good to hear your voice too." She blushes slightly, "Did you win the spelling contest?" She asks eagerly.

"First place! And we won the math quiz too!" Klanes' smile softly fades into a sad one, "I wish you were there."

"I do too," Cori sits on a bench and scratches Sammys' head, "How was the football game! I'm so mad we had to leave the day of the game! It pisses me off that I missed watching the star quarterback!" She whines.

"Oh? Who is he?" Klane plays along.

"I'm sure you know him, you play with him all the time," She giggles, knowing full well he knew she was talking about him.

"Well, he's a lucky guy," He smiles into the phone.

"Yeah, he is. I miss him," Cori's happy voice fades to a sad, depressed tone. Sammy puts his head in her lap so Cori will rub his head, "I miss you so much, Klane."

"I know, I miss you too. I've taken up three more hours at the elderly home, started babysitting kids, tutoring--."

"Klane! Stop!" Cori interrupts her boyfriend; "Three more hours? Klane! Do you hear yourself! Now that means you - not only - have school, homework, math club, football, volunteer at the homeless shelter, work - Now what it is? 7 hours? - at the elderly home!" Cori starts ranting, gaining stares from the people around; Sammy looks at her and tilts his head. "But now you've started babysitting and tutoring?"

Cori pinches the bridge of her nose and takes a deep breath, "Babe, I love you," She starts out, "But you need to slow down and take a breath! You can't push yourself to the point of exhaustion; Otherwise, you'll pass out!"

On the other end; Reily is snickering in the corner at Klane who's acting like an abandoned puppy; "I know... But I want to see you, so badly!" He whines.

"I know you do," Cori's voice softens as she sighs, "I want to see you too, but you need to move at a slower pace! I want my boyfriend with me. Not dead." She sighs, patting Sammy, "You need to stop at least two things; Whether it's babysitting, football, or the math club, and take a day to yourself. Please? I don't want you sick." Cori pleads.

"Alright, alright. You win," Klane sighs, "I love you." Klane smiles softly; Klane is dead silent, but secretly loving the fact she got worked up, She really cares about you, why did you think distance would change that? You're a fucking idiot for thinking it! He shakes his head, getting the thought out of his mind.

The sound of the phone moving catches Coris' attention, "Hey girl, I hate to make this short, but we gotta go; Klane is my ride to dance." Reily says sadly, "We'll call later, okay?"

Cori sighs, "Yeah, okay, I love you guys." She forces a smile.

"We love you too, Cor!" Klane and Reily say at the same time.

With that, they hang up.

Cori sighs, "Of course it was cut short." She looks at her phone, "Looks like we gotta head to the car. Let's go, boy." She rubs Sammys' head again.

The dog barks before Cori gets off the bench and begins to walk back to the car.

On the way there, she notices a group of teens, around her age, "Welp, we might as well make friends now." Cori sighs, "This is not how I thought my day would go."

"Hi, I'm Cori." She says hesitantly and with a depressed tone.

She notices they're all wearing what looks to be 14th-century clothing.

A taller male looks at her, "May I help you?" He has a thick Brittish accent.

"I'm new, and I guess I'm looking for some friends?" She just gives up, "Look, I'm having a bad day, so just a yes or no."

Sammy begins to growl deeply as his ears flatten against his head. He walks in front of Cori, growling at the teens, "I'm sorry about him, he's not normally like this." She says as she leans down, grabbing Sammy and calming him. This day can't get any worse, she thinks to herself.

The others in the group look to the tall male - Whom Cori has now deemed the leader of the group - the male stares at Sammy with an unamused look on his face, "Then please get your flearidden vermin out of our faces." His voice is stern, not wavering.

"Excuse me?" Cori straightens her posture, "Look, I've had a really fucked-up day, so if you want to insult someone, I'm not the girl to do it too." She growls.

"This young girl has a bit of a temper, eh?" The male says as he towers over her.

"She is an improper lady, swearing like a sailor." A teenaged girl in the group snarks.

"Says the one who's in the wrong era," Cori rolls her eyes.

"Bite your tongue!" One of the girls hits Cori with a fan, "Do you even have any idea who you are talking to?"

"No," Cori glares, "And frankly, I don't give a shit. I don't want to be here, and why would I want to hang out with people who think they live in another era!" She's practically screaming.

Sammy snarls, bearing his large, white teeth; The hair on his neck and back stand on end while the hair around his muzzle and skull is skin tight.

"Sam, let's go," Cori growls before she walks to her car.

The girls in the group look to the male, "What a rude girl!" The one who hit Cori yells.

"Very," The male mutters under his breath.