Interval

Chapter Six

Thoughts keep running through my head. The world I knew all my life would turn to ash within a matter of years. I'd be dead. Esther would be dead. My mum would be dead. Everyone would be dead.

I stay silent as I walk from the metro train, assuming the other two are walking behind me. My mind somewhere else as I enter a state of panic. The loud overwhelming sounds around me didn't help either, and the crowded metro station made me feel hot and bothered.

Though I am pulled out of the growing panic attack a little when I feel pressure on my wrist. This makes me jump a little and look behind myself. It was Esther, who appeared to be a lot calmer than I. I wondered why she wasn't in trepidation.

"You're going the wrong way. We should follow Ali, come on."

"Oh, Uh, sorry." I grumble, turning back as I keep my eyes fixated on the ground beneath me.

"Hey, Dulce...everything's going to be okay. I know all of this is a lot of information and pressure at once, but we can pull through. Together."

"Y-yeah..." I move and grab my pack, not even realizing how badly I was shaking. "I just need my medicine..."

"Alright...come on, we can get you some water. Ali, do you have anything to drink?"

Ali was standing with his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes staring curiously down to my own. "Yeah, I have some water. Is he going to be okay?" He asks, reaching into his own bag before pulling out a metal flask.

"He'll be fine..." Esther lightly grabs the flask and hands it over to me.

I move back against a wall and slide down to sit, pulling out my anxiety medicine. The medication I took was Xanax, and it helped me calm down and relax. Though I tended to feel dizzy and a bit nauseous once it started to kick in, I at least felt a lot better mentally.

Opening the bottle and then the flask, I down one Xanax pill; drinking water right after. I then take a deep breath and rub my face, closing the flask back up and handing it back to Ali who stood over me; afterwards, placing my anxiety medicine back into my bag.

"Thank you. I'll be better soon, I-I just feel a little out of shape right now." I stand back up and try to grin, "Back to walking, then."

"Are you sure you're alright to Walk?" Esther questions, taking my hand to keep me up right and going the right direction.

"I'll be fine. How far until we get to your house, Ali?"

"A fifteen minute walk from here. Once we're there, you can lay down and rest."

   "Alright...thank you..." I quietly respond, my freehand balled up into a fist over my chest. As Esther walks again, I follow close behind. My hand loose but hers tight. I felt safer with someone near me who was able to pull me along and show me the way.

   Ali leads Esther and I through the crowd for a good five minutes, leading us up some steps as he finally make it outside. The air here was fresher than in the metro. It smelt less of sweat and drugs.

   I look off at the city as we stood some stories up, people coming out more as it got darker. Some of their outfits glowing in neon, some black as night. Vendors stood against walls of the extremely large terrace we walk on, yelling and selling their wares. Some even trying to confront us, but Ali rudely turns them down.

   Ali to me was intimidating. He seemed to only want to be kind to me; only rude to everyone else he confronts. He didn't seem scared to live in a world like this. It was as if everyone around him feared his presence. He was like a queen walking down a street of peasants; not being physically intimidating, but tactically and mentally.