When the Sun Fell

Chapter 14 - No time for questions

Grace

In my dream, I stood in a blue room. A small bed with white sheets graced the wall beside me, wind from an open window moving the blankets gracefully, and child's toys lay strewn across the carpeted floor. In front of me, a mirror stretched from one wall to another. I saw myself, not who I am today, but as a child. When all was right in my world and there was no struggle for survival. I watched the little, pale-faced girl dance before me, practicing her ballet, trying to find what talent suited her. It was obvious she was struggling, and her face longed for better choices, but she was too proud to let anyone else see the sorrow in her eyes. Something was wrong, off-putting about the scene, and as I tried to move, to shield myself of witnessing what I had already felt, first-person, I found myself stuck, immobile. With no choice, I stared onward. As I continued to watch, the girl continued to grow, stumbling over her own feet, tears staining her cheeks. In agony I watched as she appeared to beg, apologize to other beings, those I could not see.

Finally, I saw her surroundings change, a cold street with cool October rain pelting her shoulders. She looked up at me, her blue eyes connected with mine, and I saw the red mark disfiguring her left cheek. I felt the stinging pain of being hit by someone you love. Someone I thought had loved me, too. The now 13 year old stood before me, her eyes pleading, begging me to help her.

Finally I was freed from my trance, running forward, trying to smash the wall separating our two worlds, trying to reach the girl. The girl who failed to please the world. The girl who was thrown out into the cruel, dark world at such a young age by those she thought closest to her.

I wanted to help because I knew how it felt.

But suddenly the glass melted away and I realized that I was locked in the same world as the girl in front of me. The girl I had forgotten was really myself.

And I felt the tears start to build up in my eyes as she disappeared before me, and I was left alone, stranded in a world that didn't want me.

It was too dark to find the light of my friends.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I shook awake to the sound of beating winds and a quiet motor. Looking up, I saw a large black figure emerge from the greenish sludge-like clouds. Energy and excitement pulsed through my veins as the helicopter began circling the area above us.. Jumping to my feet, and ignoring the pain that rushed through my body as I did so, I grabbed a scrap of broken mirror from the pile of supplies beside me. Shaking my friends awake, I manipulated what little light off of the fire that I could into my tiny reflective surface. Joel stirred beside me before Mason, who I presumed had fallen asleep during his shift. I didn't know why they hadn't woken me up, but I had more pressing matters at the moment.

"Why is it so damn windy? And what the fuck is all the noise about?" the blonde asked me, her voice scratchy and irritable.

"Helicopter," was all I had to say before she sprang into action. Her grey eyes snapped open, and for a second, I saw a hint of blue from behind the normal, stony hue. The heli seemed to catch a glimpse of our signal, and I thought I saw it begging to make a decent above. Meanwhile, my hopes rose to the heavens. Helicopters meant people. People with skills, supplies, and normally blood on their hands. So long as we remained on-guard and had our weapons nearby, there was a likelihood that they-

"Grace, are you gonna move, or do you want to get squished by a chopper?" Joel said, and I noticed the wind pick up my ginger hair from my shoulders. Slipping out of the way, I felt tears begin to pour down my cheeks as I looked at the first piece of hope I'd seen for a long time.