Cult » Daryl Dixon

eight

eight.

I've been here before; I've been here for four years of my life, but something about the walls felt like they had eyes burning through my skin. My fork sat in my hand as I stared down at my lunch tray, trying to figure out why I was back here. The roar of students talking with each other seemed amplified, almost as if they were all screaming. I squeezed my eyes shut to try and focus when a voice brought me back from my near breakdown.

"Aften, hello," my friend Sammi said sharply to me, waving her hand in front of my face. "God, you've been out of it today. Are you sure you're alright?" I snapped my head up to look at her. I was almost lost for words; I couldn't believe she was in front of me. She looked just like I remembered her. Act normal, Aften, act normal and try and figure out what the fuck is going on.

"Yeah," I sighed as I decided to dig into the wilted lettuce on my tray to make my myself look like I was supposed to be here.

"Alright... anyways, I was saying we haven't done anything together in months," she whined as I pushed the tray away from me. It must've been Friday; Friday's school lunch always consisted of a soggy piece of pizza and a few crusty peaches that weren't that appetizing even though I could feel hunger ping in my stomach like I had actually been in class all morning. "We should have a sleepover tonight, like a movie night or something. It has to be at my house, though, okay?"

"Why can't we do it at mine," I questioned before taking a sip from my water bottle. I loved having Sammi over 'cause my dad kept his distance and acted somewhat decent.

"Your dad," she winced as if she was afraid to admit it and that the mention of him might set me off. I frowned, kicking the peach on the floor near my foot that was thrown by a table full of rowdy boys. "He scares me." I mean, my dad scared me too but I rarely ever mentioned him if I could help it... god, Sammi, you always knew. "He gives me weird vibes, Aften. You don't think I don't notice the bruises on your arms? Those make the sirens go off in my head."

"Sammi..." I attempted to stop her. I didn't want anyone else to hear what was being said, the familiar feeling of shame and embarrassment taking over as if I was still back in high school and this was real life. And hell, kids these days make fun of anyone for anything. And if the teachers called home? My dad would have my ass and I'd never see the light of day again for however long I was going to be in this realm.

"Look, I don't know what happens to you at home when you're alone but that shit makes me nervous." Sammi picked a piece of pepperoni off of her pizza. "Those things go together all too well. You know you can come talk to me if you're having any issues, right? I'm always here for you; we always have each other's backs."

"I know, I know," I sighed, tucking my hair behind my ear. She was such a sweet girl, one of the only people I'd trust with my life. "I'm alright, I promise. Everyone's doing fine and I've never been better. I just have a tendency to be clumsy, that's all. Everything's fine, everyone's happy." I could feel my eyes widen as the excuse I've said many times before escaped my lips; it was like my body was on autopilot.

"If you say so..." Sammi stared at me with uncertainty, shrugging. "I'm still gonna be suspicious though and just so you know, I'm never gonna trust your dad," she admitted with no regrets, popping a grape into her mouth. "You're my closest friend and because I love you, I'm always looking out for you. I have the right to be worried."

"What the fuck is going on," I mumbled under my breath as she stood up, ready to dump her tray. I almost felt like I couldn't control my own body, my thoughts. Something, or someone, was controlling me and the environment.

A loud crack echoed through the entryway. The lunch room became startled by the noise, kids beginning to buzz nervously as some just simply got up and left as soon as they could.

"What the fuck was that," Sammi wondered, turning around and trying to get a glimpse of the entryway. Two more cracks exploded from the same area, this time more kids getting up to leave as the nervous buzzing got louder. Sammi abruptly turned around and grabbed my hand. "Aften, we gotta go!"

"Why? What is it," I asked anxiously just as a long connected stream of cracks crescendoed and bounced off the walls; this was a new experience, this had never happened in this space before. I snapped my head around to look over towards the noise just in time to see a gunman stomping into the lunch room. I felt my stomach drop and a scream creeping up my throat. It got caught as I immediately began to run in the other direction, the rest of the lunch room breaking into chaos.

People sprinted in various directions, screaming and abandoning their food, backpacks, and purses as bullets flew through the air. A few kids dropped to the ground, wounded or dead, while Sammi and I bolted towards the hallway that split off in two directions; they lead to different blocks of classrooms. My legs felt like jelly, my heart thudding against my chest so hard I thought I was gonna vomit. A shot exploded from behind us and Sammi suddenly collapsed. A pool of ruby red blood quickly started to surround her head, spreading faster and faster over the shiny white linoleum floor by the second.

Before I had the chance to do or say anything, another shot came from near me. The force knocked me forward onto the ground next to Sammi's body. The shot stung my shoulder while I hollered out in pain, my hand flying to my wound to stop the bleeding. A deep warm feeling covered that area, concealing the sting. Hot white pain clouded my mind as my fingers kept slipping from the hole in my shoulder. Red soaked my fingertips. Tears leaked out of my eyes as I rolled over onto my back. I could see my blood on the floor next to me. The boots of the gunman drug closer, stopping and standing right over my body. The masked figure stared straight into my eyes with no emotion whatsoever. It sent shockwaves of terror through me as I cried. They pointed their gun at my head and pulled the trigger, not missing a single beat.

I woke up clutching my chest, my heart racing so much that it was aching. My body was drenched with sweat and my clothes clung to my skin. My mind was still clouded from sleep but I sat up, trying to catch my breath. I frantically looked around at where I was, forgetting what my surroundings even were.

"Where is he? Where is he," I asked loudly, my voice wavering. "He's gonna kill us!" Merle scrambled over to me, putting his fingers to my lips and hushing me; he had been sitting on the floor of my cell to monitor me through the night. "He shot us," I whispered. "He broke in and shot us. He killed us." A dark silhouette appeared outside the cell, hovering like it was watching over me. The darkness caused my anxiety to sky-rocket again. I didn't dare look at it.

"He's not here," Merle assured me. "He's not here, it was a dream. It's just us." I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath as Merle kept his voice low to calm me. "It was just a dream. He's not here, alright? It's just us here." My breathing slowed back to its normal pace as I nodded slowly. "You're okay, it's just us. You're safe with me."