The Moon

[Tonyksin]

[Amelia Fischer Continued From Hell and You]


Huff… huff… huff…

Her ragged breaths beat in tune with the sound of her boots hitting the ground. She hadn’t stopped running since she left the serenity circle however long ago. Her body worked itself overtime to keep her moving, even as she stumbled and tripped over stray tree roots and her own bumbling feet. She didn’t know where she was running to or what she was running from, all she knew was that she had to keep going. No matter what.

It was all over now.

Amelia had no one left.

Everyone had left her behind, again.

Dolly, Declyn, her parents…

They all left without her, leaving her to pick up the broken pieces.

It wasn’t fair.

IT WASN’T FAIR.

Through the woods she ran as fast as her weak body could take her, crashing into trees and stumbling over rocks, she kept moving. If she stopped it meant everything was real. It meant Declyn was dead. It meant she was going to die, too. Her frantic movements were all she had left. If she ran far enough it wouldn’t be true. She could run away from absolutely everything. The toe of her boot caught on something heavy, and Amelia tumbled forwards, hitting the ground with a fair amount of force. Her face hit the ground hard, and she heard a wet crack as her forehead bounced off a badly-placed stone.

Amelia’s free hand shot up to try and grab at the pain radiating from her head, but the warm, wet feeling made her hand shoot away as if burned. She stared down at the blood on her hand in a mixture of confusion and fear. Her head turned slightly, to see what she’d fallen over, and as it came into view, her face scrunched up in disgust and her eyes narrowed in absolute terror. A violent scream echoed through the tree as she backpedaled herself on the ground away from the bloodied and rotting corpse of one of her classmates.

But, that wasn’t what she saw at all.

No…

The worm-eaten corpse remained, but what sent her mind into a fear-fuelled meltdown was her own face replacing the one that should have been there. Her own dead and dulled eye staring back at her as she screamed and tried to get away. Her bloodied clothes. Her half-decayed face rotting in the early morning light. Amelia felt the tears begin to stream what little water she had left in her down her dirty cheeks, mixing with the blood dripping from her forehead. No… It wasn’t real! She was still alive! SHe spun onto her knees and faced away from the corpse, burying her head down to the forest floor and grasping the sides of her head in some feigned protection from what was happening.

“Itsnotrealitsnotrealitsnotrealitsnotreal…” She mumbled over and over and over trying to convince her sleep-deprived mind. Her entire body was trembling in absolute panic.

“Take me away! Take me away! Takemeawaytakemeaway! TAKE ME AWAY!” She screamed to the empty woods.

She let go of her head, and started to drag herself along the dirty ground on her hands and knees, anything to get her away from the dead body with her face. She just wanted to disappear. Fade away into nothingness. She wanted someone, anyone, to make all the pain and fear go away forever. It wasn’t fair. Why did she have to do this all alone? Why did everyone have to go first? She needed them. She couldn’t do this all by herself. She wasn’t strong enough. Her body was aching as she crawled. Her head was spinning, it was hard to keep her balance even on her hands and knees. She kept falling and having to pick herself back up, over and over and over.

She was lost again.

“Take me away… Dolly…” she sobbed as her fingers dug into the dirt to pull herself just a little further.

‘Amelia…’

Amelia stopped as the familiar voice invaded her mind. She lifted her head from the ground slowly to stare ahead of her in confusion. Her eyes trembled and she felt every hair on her body stand up straight. It wasn’t possible. It… it wasn’t real. It couldn’t be. But that maroon dress, and those pigtails. Who else could it have been?

Dolly…?

Standing a few feet ahead of her was Dolly. Her Dolly. Looking as fresh and clean as the day they got on the bus. Amelia choked out a happy sob as she stared at her friend. Her mentor. Her protector. Her everything. Dolly’s bored expression was just like always.

‘Did you think I would leave you here alone?.’ Dolly spoke, or were the words just in Amelia’s head. She wasn’t sure.

“No… I knew you wouldn’t… please Dolly, help me, pleasepleaseplease…” she sobbed as she sat back on her heels and rubbed the tears from her face with the back of her hands.

“I’m just... so confused.”

‘That’s alright. I’ll tell you what to do. Just like always.’

Amelia blinked, and Dolly was gone. But somehow, Amelia didn’t feel scared. Dolly was still with her. Dolly would make everything better. Dolly would help her. Another sob spilled from her lips and she buried her face in her hands, crying until there were no more tears.

[Ameia Fischer Continued In What Do I Hear, What Do I Hear?]