The sun was high in the sky, the intense hues of shrubs and wildflowers on full display. The grass was a brilliant green, wet and soft beneath her feet. How odd, that the harsh midday sun hadn't yet dried away the morning dew. But she didn't pay it any mind, hearing her name called in a familiar voice. It was Robin! Up ahead and smiling, the sunlight shone gold on the crown of her head like a halo. Her smile, how Stevie had missed that smile. Her arm slowly curved out and forward.
Come on!
She called before turning away, her favorite sundress from the summer after junior year swishing behind her. Stevie grinned, beginning to run after her when suddenly a gleam caught the corner of her eye.
A wild white rose. Its stalk was firm and thick, softly bending as its petals fell open in full bloom. All alone.
She was drawn to the flower, not consciously stepping towards it but growing closer all the same.
Steph, come on! Robin cried.
Just wait! She called back.
Teeth gleaming and eyes bright, Robin began to laugh. She bent over in fully fledged giggles, just as she had standing in the sand all those years ago, when they snuck out after dark to go skinny dipping until Stevie got too scared and refused to get undressed. Come on, Stevie. Robin had said. It's only me.
Her cheeks had burned in humiliation then, but now she was too distracted, too entranced by the single bloom. She drew closer, feet brushing the clumped sprigs of lavender littering the field. Stevie reached out with a single finger, sweeping along the silken petals. They were even softer than she had imagined. Unable to hold back, she grasped the rose by its stalk, tugging it up from the soil. Looking down at her prize, she found the uprooted flower was—it was bleeding. A deep crimson seeped up from the stem, staining the bright petals. Fully red, the flower darkened. Its hue, deeper than garnet, was almost black.
And then the rumbling. Stevie moved away in horror as the ground began to crack open before her feet. Scrambling, she fell back onto the dried brown grass, grasping it with clenched fists as the soft bed where her rose had once stood became a deep fissure in the earth.
And then Robin. No longer laughing, now anguish and fear filled her cries. Stevie tried to crawl forward, searching for the sound. But she couldn't move.
Then, she saw it. The flash of a pale bony hand grasping the chasm's edge. It was her—she was there!
Stevie! Where are you? The voice cried from the pit.
Her body was shaking, trembling, as she tried to crawl forward.
Where are you, Stevie? It's only me!
She couldn't move, she could hardly breathe. Robin was down there all alone, and she couldn't get there. They were both all alone.
I'm here! I'm coming! She sobbed back, tears obscuring her vision as Stevie fought against her motionless limbs.
It's only me, Steph, it's only me!
Suddenly, the hand was gone.
And she screamed.
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