Unearthly Earth

No Traces

Tabitha's P.O.V.
 

“BEEEP BEEEP BEEEP BEEEP.” My alarm clock screamed in my ear.

“Uuuuugggghhh.” I groaned not even wanting to get out of bed. My bed was so warm, and big. I closed my eyes.

I guess I ended up falling asleep, because when I finally did open my eyes I was almost late.

I hurriedly grabbed my things and I shuffled out the door. I was tired, soo tired. I'd overslept, just my luck. This was my first week back to school and it was already beginning badly. I set my alarm clock for five extra minutes, and got thirty extra instead.

I didn’t want to go to school, but I knew in my mind I couldn’t drop out now. I had come this far, and college was very important. I took a pledge to keep myself going everyday regardless of the circumstances. If I was ever going to be anything I had to work for it.

School wasn’t a joke. In my day and time if you didn’t go to school you wouldn’t have a future. I knew that I had to be the one to give myself a future as I had no one left except my parents to help me. Well, one of my parents. The police searched for my mom’s body that night, and it wasn’t recovered. The weird thing is, they did find her blood.

After many days of them searching the woods, they called off the search party. The trail had run cold, and the rain was headed in. After school, I was going to search for her on my own. I had no other solution. The woods went on for miles around the area that she had went missing in. In my mind I believed that maybe she had bumped her head, and trailed into the woods unknowingly. The chances of her being alive after a week with a wound was very slim, but I’d rather had known I tried than to not have tried at all.

 Today’s date was August 11, 2002.

I hastily made my way out the door to start my lonely walk to school. I lost an hour of sleep. I was drowsy, and I couldn't think straight. I was hastily walking while brushing my hair and trying to manage it into a pony tail with a headband to keep my bangs from falling in my face. 

The clocks had gotten shifted back a hour. It would be 5:45 right now, but it's 6:45. I turned on my MP3 player to distract myself from how scared I was walking the 3 miles it took to get to school alone. The Goo Goo Dolls started to play.

 "Ugh" I said out loud. I loved the Goo Goo Dolls but not now, not while I was going through such a horrible point in my life. I sighed, not caring anymore. I couldn't always hold in my emotions and even if I did cry, I didn't have make-up on.

I looked ahead, and on my side of the road a old man was walking. I cringed, moving to the left of the road, turning down my music and focusing on getting past him, and to school safely. As I neared him he smiled and waved. Relief washed over me, just a friendly old man. I turned my head towards him and smiled at him and waved back.

It all happened so fast, I had no time to run or do anything about it. A man on my side of the road jumped in front of me, knocking me off my feet and onto the concrete below. I kicked and screamed trying to fight him off, as the older guy sprinted across the street towards us.

I was so frightened all I could do was scream and holler for help, but the stretch of road I was on held no houses for a good mile or so. I dug my nails into the old man’s leg and didn’t let go until he kicked me in the nose. Blood ran onto the ground under my face as I cried out in pain.

“God damnit Chris, clean up that f*cking blood you idiot!” The younger man screamed at the older one.

“Chris.” I said over and over in my head, knowing I could use this for later. I looked up at the old man synchronizing every single thing I could about him. He was short, gray hair and green eyes. He had no teeth, and very bushy eyebrows.  

Before I could realize what the younger man was doing, a rag was to my face. I kicked wildly, breathing in the light scent of alcohol and acetone. I became light headed, and my vision blurry. I started to hold my breath but there was no use, they weren’t removing the rag. "Chloroform." Was the last thought I had before I passed out.