The Viper ONC 2020

Chapter Two

That night had been a difficult one for Scarlett. It was full of tossing, turning, and a whole lot of thinking. When the sun had once again risen, it was almost like a sad relief for her. She was thankful that the sun was back and alive with life, but also taken aback by the fact that the night had flown by with such depressing matters weighing her down like a ton of bricks.

The thick, humid air made Scarlett's hair stick to the back of her neck as she groggily made her way to the bathroom. When she looked in the mirror to brush her teeth, a worn-out young woman returned her gaze. Dark circles were imprinted underneath her eyes, and her skin was pale and acne-ridden. Her once luscious dark brown hair looked oily and thinning. It was a far cry from the playful young lady that appeared only yesterday.

Scarlett lifted her arms above her head and gave a long stretch. It was a pathetic attempt at waking up.

She shook her head and let out a very unladylike yawn. Scarlett turned the water on and went to brush her teeth. She was halfway through when a small jitter ran through her body. She shivered as she spat out the frothy mess in her mouth, gazing towards the mirror as if to say, 'what the hell?'

It was only then that she noticed her eyes had that small red tint. Scarlett looked in the mirror as her heart rate started to speed up; she gazed at her eyes as though it were just an image in her head. She was simply crazy. Right?

The water continued to run out of the faucet as Scarlett rubbed at her eyes vigorously. She thought that it might go away if she rubbed her eyes long and hard enough.

Scarlett was wrong.

When she finished her panicking, she opened her eyes to see that the red tint had only grown deeper. Was god playing a cruel trick on her to get a laugh?

"What the fuck?" Scarlett stammered in a manic voice. She just gazed in the mirror as though she were looking at a stranger. Surely that wasn't her? Yet, somewhere deep inside her core, Scarlett knew that this was reality; this wasn't just a dreaded nightmare.

"Wake up, wake up, wake up," Scarlett repeated with a shake of her head. Angry tears started to stream down her cheeks as her hands clenched the edge of the granite countertop.

With a few deep, shaky breaths, Scarlett wiped away the tears and put on a brave face. There was certainly a reason for this, medical or mental; there had to be a reason. So, Scarlett did what any sane person would do; she went to the internet for answers.

Within five minutes she knew that this was certainly not the way to go. Out of three searches, diagnoses were mainly cancer, mental illness, and cornea eating bacteria. Scarlett chucked her phone onto her makeshift bed and decided she needed to clear her mind with a run.

"God knows today can't get any worse," she mumbled as she changed into a tank top and some black sports shorts. She tied her shoes and stretched lightly before grabbing her pepper spray and heading out the door. The last thing Scarlett wanted was to be mugged and left for dead in an alleyway. Though she doubted anyone would want to get near her with her blood-like colored eyes.

Scarlett started her run and allowed her mind to drift away into the realms of god knows where. It had been chaotic for her over the past few days. Between packing her things for college, finding time to spend with Jacklyn, her delusions, and now her red eyes, Scarlett was dumbfounded at how to relax. She wasn't even sure if the term relaxation would be in her vocabulary anymore. Sure, things weren't always the easiest, but the past two days were just beyond Scarlett's terms of daily, normal activities.

Scarlett passed a corner and found her path leading to a little downtown park. Her legs started to ache with fatigue, but Scarlett took the challenge to keep running. Her eyes scanned over the terrain; it was mostly littered with trees, benches, and statues. A few passersby gave Scarlett a quick glance, none really paying her any mind. She was thankful for that, but if only they took a closer look then they would see a panicked little girl, terrified of everything in the world.