midnight blues · kth

|three|

-survival-

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Life is never easy. Its full of unpredictable experiences and changes that come and go in waves. We never see them coming either, no matter how big or small. One minute you're floating around peacefully on the surface and in the blink of an eye, at the snap of a finger we're being swallowed whole by a wave that we never even saw coming. 

But that's life, isn't it? You have to face these unexpected twists and turns, you have to fight through them to keep your head above water and when that time comes when you get tossed mercilessly into the deep end, you either swim or you drown...

The world was silent. So silent in fact, that Imani could almost hear her resolve crumbling. She was terrified, the spine chilling reality she lived in washed over her, jolting her senses like an icy splash of water to the face.

She stood, quietly catching her breath against yet another unknown building in a rather unusually dead part of town. She kept pressing her back further against the brick wall trying to mould herself into becoming one with the shadows. Wouldn't that be easier? If only she could just disappear right then and there. 

She sighed out heavily, her chest heaving in and out as her fingers fidgeted nervously with one another. Gritting her teeth and clenching her fists as she fought back tears of frustration and uncertainty, she let out another heavy breath. She had wandered too far off for her to recognise any of her surroundings and she had absolutely no idea where she was going.

Never once had she left home and travelled as far as she currently was but this night in particular was proving to be full of surprises that were way out of her comfort zone. 

She looked around carefully, trying to make out any clue that might give her an idea of how far away she had gotten or that would tell her how long she had been running for. Any place that could make it easier for her to hide, or at least give her enough time to think. 

'No' she thought sternly reprimanding herself silently. She had to think on her feet. Hiding out would get her nowhere and would only increase the risk of her getting caught. She had to keep moving no matter what. 

She pushed herself off of the wall and continued on, running and moving deeper and deeper into the unknown alleys and streets of the city. The shadows from the tall buildings that surrounded her made it harder for her to see but still, she ran. Further and further away from her comfort zone, away from the people she loved and cared for and towards a future that was dark and uncertain. 

But she had no other choice. She had to survive, to swim to safety and keep her body from sinking to the depths and drowning in the process. 

She ran a little further before laughter floated out from a few lit up windows in the apartment buildings that surrounded her. There was music playing and faint, light hearted chatter all around her but Imani paid them all absolutely no mind. Her head was too preoccupied with the previous life threatening events she had encountered, her adrenaline fueling the only logical instinct that managed to kick in for her at that moment: 'flight'. 

Immediately after encountering the red head in the bathroom, she took her duffel bag and left behind a note for the girls before silently exiting through the back of the club. She hated the prospect of leaving them so soon but she didn't want to put any of them in danger for the sake of keeping herself safe. 

She knew they wouldn't hesitate to protect her, they were like the family she wished she had and she loved them too much to put their lives at risk like that. She had to run and fight for her life, for her freedom, and she would be damned if she let it be taken away by a bunch of pretty boy criminals.