I awoke under pounds of soot, wondering where the hell I was and what had happened. I sat up and wiped the black clumps from my eyes. I coughed and more of the black snow escaped my lungs. I looked around and found I was in a ruined landscape of burnt woods, melted metal, and ash swirling around my head. I coughed again and got up, dusting myself off. My legs were completely black, and i wasn't wearing tights... I suddenly remembered why i had been there. This had been the carnival, and i had tried to kill myself in the fire.
"DAMN IT!!!" I shouted at my failure. Another thought suddenly hit me as well. "Trash bags..." I gasped, pushing away piles of ash to try and find them.
My efforts were futile and I had no such luck finding them. I coughed again and again before my eyes began watering and i thought i was going to throw up. I covered my mouth and quickly tried to run out. I kept tripping over pieces of burnt wood and bottles of empty beer. My knees and elbows were bloody and I couldn't breathe at all by the time i located the exit and was able to climb over the fence to get out. I took in a greedy breath and threw up . My vomit was black, all black... Just looking at it made me throw up again. After a few good minutes i was able to breathe again. I brushed the black snow off of my arms and legs and hissed as it stung my cuts.
"Sh..." i cursed.
I found a water fountain nearby and washed myself off. Then i quickly drank as much of it as I could, clearing my throat of everything that was sticking inside it. When i was finished I collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily. Killing yourself wasn't as easy as i thought it would be, and it certainly sucked if you failed. My lungs ached and my eyes stung enough for tears to continually run down my cheeks, streaking the soot that stuck to my skin like peanut butter. I rubbed my eyes with my sleeves and cleared them enough to finally see where i was. I was in a parking lot somewhere... As i looked around I realized where I was. A car suddenly whizzed past me, sending gasoline fumes into my eyes next. I screamed in pain and covered them until it parked on the other side of the lot. I got back up to the water fountain and rinsed my eyes as best i could. It hurt just as bad as the soot but it was going to help, i hoped... I checked my pocket for my cell phone. Maybe i needed to go to the hospital... i found it in my right pocket and pulled it out. It had a lovely new crack in the screen, but it was still functional. The time said it was 1:05 pm. I suddenly heard the squeaking of wheels from the direction the truck had gone. I looked up and saw two men dressed in black carting an ATM across the lot.
"What the hell...?" i squinted, wondering if my eyes were deceiving me. There was no way...
i snuck around the lot, hiding behind cars that had been abandoned there and got close enough to realize i wasn't crazy. THESE guys were freaking crazy! The police station was right across the road!!! They were going to get caught the idiots. I couldn't help but watch them as they tried to load it up onto the truck, and were failing miserably. I had a sudden wish that this robbery would affect my parents bank accounts. Watch them squirm as their assets dried up and they were left with nothing, forced to live it a crappy place like i did, with crazy-ass neighbors and old men that yelled at you for no reason!!! I wanted them to suffer... my mind got back on track when the ATM fell on one of the men. I heard the sickening sound of his bones crunching. I snickered and smiled as the other man began frantically trying to pull it off of him.
"This is an analogy for society, crushed by our capitalism and greed..." I whispered under my breath.
Look, Koraki said. I followed his line of sight to a girl standing, watching a robbery take place. She was so dark with soot it took me a while to realise that she was the goth girl who lived in my building. She was watching several idiot humans try to steal an entire ATM machiene. I didn't pay any attention to them, they were morons, beneath my notice. But something about her captivated me. She just watched with an open stare, not caring a bit about the ash that covered her from head to toe.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think she is thinking about? Koraki asked. I loved how we were so connected that he knew the robbery would be of no interest to me.
"I think she is finding poetry." I replied.
I see a man bathed in soot. I open my mouth to cry for help, but my mouth is dry and caked with ash. I slowly stumble over to where he's lying, and collapse on his shoulder.
ReplyDelete"Help me..." I manage to croak feebly.
The man pushes me off and mutter something about trash bags as he drags himself away from me.
As Ceilí sat on a bench in the playground, a female form came trudging from the ashes of the carnival in the parking lot past Watershed Heights. As she crossed the street by the decrepit fountain, a truck came rushing past and nearly struck her. Ceilí hopped up from the bench and stepped toward the woman in a rush, but the woman continued, only mildly phased. The woman made her way towards the Stop 'n' Shop, following the truck. As the woman passed under a streetlight, Ceilí caught sight of her state: grimy, sooty, dark
ReplyDeleteBianca noticed a young girl peering at the show from behind a dumpster. Clad in dark gothic colors, she seemed to find it all very amusing.
ReplyDeleteThere's another girl watching.. Kitty something. I doubt she'll call the police. Shit, I wouldn't either. Thats not the "watershed" way...
ReplyDeleteTime: 12:56 pm
ReplyDeleteLocation: Same
Temperature and Humidity: Same
Push it out of your head Margie-girl. Stop wasting energy on useless passion – you've ruled your life by reason, and this is no time to change. Watch the people around you. Feel the sun on your skin. Dig your toes in the earth and understand what plants understand. Think about everything so you can think about nothing.
Time: 1:00 pm
Location: Same
Temperature and Humidity: Same
The woman with the leaky ceiling is sitting on a bench in the playground. Her head twitches slightly, like she's counting the squeaks of the rusty swings as the wind tangles them together.
A teenage girl is staggering along the sidewalk. She is covered from head to toe in soot. The woman with the leaky ceiling has gotten up to follow her.
Two men with a hand truck have taken the ATM from Stop 'n Shop and are running down the alleyway, presumably towards a getaway car. Nectar robbers have a better strategy, and they're running off a cerebral ganglion, not a brain.
She began to feel like that emo gothic girl who always seemed so depressed. She always thought the girl was very weird, but maybe the girl was dealing with the same insecurities as Kalenna.
ReplyDelete