Karen - Part 2

The second part of this journey sees Trey face the madness of the present and the shame from the past.

 Maybe I should've asked his name. I don't think it would have made a huge difference though.

All I'm doing is walking through the silent and desolate streets of the city, trying to reach home. Karen, I hope you are there. I'm running out of cigarettes, after the one I'm smoking at the moment I only have two. The sun is setting and the orange glow from it covers the city, complementing the small but furious flames which are dotted around the city. The flames make the shards of glass glisten and the reflection of the sky's scar reflected on each and every piece. It's grown again, almost like a giant spiders web is covering the sky now. Reaching past the view which is blocked by the skyscrapers, and further than that still, it causes panic to those who see it. Nobody knows what it brings but everybody is scarred.

Not long till my house now, from passing the old corner shop, with it's smashed windows and vacant stock I know I'm close. From afar it looks as though there is a stage, candles surround it and what looks like a thick white cloud is huddled around it. It's the nut job, gathering to prey for salvation. I don't want them to see me, but they block the only direct path to my house. I'd better take my chances and get past them. The herd of white hooded, and white cloaked people who have given up hope and have decided just to wait for the end. I try not to get spotted by them. As I approach the crowd of at least twenty people I notice the man on stage.

“We who stand here today beg for your forgiveness. We apologize for our sinful lives and think your punishment is just.” The booming voice from the stage captivates the audience. They look up at him through their hoods. All of them are controlled by the fear of the sky. It's pathetic how they have given up hope. I take the last drag from my cigarette and feel the smoke rush around my lungs calming my body before walking past the nut jobs. The old man on stage is still giving his speech. I choose not to listen all the bullshit from the stage. Karen?! I see her again walking into the mass of white cloaks. Her brown hair trailing behind. Is she really here? Or is this like the other times. I can't miss the opportunity. I join the mass of people, manoeuvring around them. They don't bat a second look at me they're all too manipulated by the man on the wooden stage. I look down through them to see if I can see her. All I can see are small squares of paper all over the place. Some of the people are dropping them on the ground. What is going on here?

A am surrounded by a horde of mindless people, all converted and believing this is the end. I don't care about any of that I just want my sister. I fall to my knees and no one notices. I cry and no one notices. Then one person does. A girl, she sees me in pain on the floor. With a bandage on my head, on my knees, I must look pathetic. She tells me “get up,” with a soft and calm tone and I do with her help. I look into her eyes then. Her green, sparkling eyes. She's young. Only about eighteen, same as me. Her hair which peeks through the white hood is blonde. Beautiful but corrupt since she's here. All she does is look up and stare at the tears in my eyes. I don't say a word. Part of me wants to leave but part of me wishes to stay here, with her. Then the nameless girl approaches and stands close to me, our bodies touching. She smiles with her beautiful face up at me and says “cheer up.” She then makes a move, and kisses me without hesitation. Her lips are soft and tender. What is going on? Then I hear the speech as she kisses me. “and so we return our bodies to you. We apologize and hope you accept us through the golden gates instead of staying here and being destroyed because of the mistakes that the people have made. We have seen the light and wish to continue our existence.”

Before I pull away from the girl she slips something into my mouth. I step a few yards back, my eyes wide open, scarred of what is to come. My heart races, this can't be happening. The nameless girl then looks at me and says with a deluded smile “See, everything will be okay.” From her long white robes, she points it to her head, and I see past the long flowing sleeves what I feared. Everyone, even the man on stage points it towards their head. Only she is looking straight into my soul. Her smile, her soft lips. “NO!” I scream as she gives out a last innocent chuckle but then it was over. A deafening bang from all directions. A flurry of them as if a flock of birds had taken flight. She is no longer standing. None of them are. The searing pain in my head from the bangs don't bother me. I only stand in absolute shock. Their robes are no longer pure white. They are stained, stained with a horrid red.

A mass suicide had taken place in the middle of the street as the sun went down. All of their bodies are now lifeless after shooting themselves dead. They believe that they have gone to a better place. I can't stay for long. I then spit out whatever the girl had put in my mouth. It's a small square of paper, like a stamp. The same ones which are on the floor. That's when I decide to run. Before I do, I recognize some faces from my old life. The pair of them. I'm not surprised they ended here. I'm not sad they died here, drowning in the blood of idiots. The entire floor is red now. I almost feel like laughing at the site of them. I remember my priority. Karen! She was never here. It was just my mind playing tricks again. I run as fast as I can home. I've got no qualms with the dead, no need to stay.

I move without taking a breath. She has to be here. She has to. There it is. The house I grew up in, the big detached house standing as ruins. The windows are smashed, the front door broken down violently. I'm out of breath now, I don't know how long I was running for. As a catch my breath and take in the site of my home something starts. The walls of my house begin to shake. No not shake, their waving as if they are waves of the sea, gently pulling and pushing the air around it. The sky is starting to shift, and pulsate in colors. Green, then blue, then red it flashes before my eyes. I'm left starring at the anomaly in awe. It leaves me speechless. What is going on? My heart, it races, out of control. Why am I trembling so much? This can't be real. The broken glass on the windows, the shards, the teeth. They smile at me, they want to devour me. I can't turn back but it's not right. My head, it hurts again. What is this world I have plunged into? It's madness. As I step up onto the porch of my house in hesitation I feel like the wooden floor boards are melting. They ooze, I'm disgusted it looks like all the ooze of the wood is moving towards me. I'm going to sink into it if I don't move quickly. Bursting and stumbling into the house, nearly breaking the door I fall to the ground. I close my eyes, I don't want to see any of this. Who are you? Watching me as I lay on the floor of my home. I know your there, starring at me, judging me. I look up and see him standing in front of me. Tall and proud, it's how he always was. His face isn't there! His head is, his hair, his ears but there are no facial features on this being standing in front of me. Why can I feel his eyes piercing my soul if he has none. As I get up he disappears into all directions like sand dispersing in the wind. “Danny, I'm sorry I let you down. I said I'd look after her. Easier said brother.” I stumble about my house, looking at the remnants of the past shift into life around me. They move and pulsate almost to the rhythm of my quick heart. Nauseating but also amusing. I can't help but to laugh in hysteria.

We played together, the three of us. Me, you and Karen. On that tire swing out back, we played. I can see you standing there, faceless and in the clothes we buried you in. Still looking at me, tormenting me. You could never hold a grudge, but I can imagine your disappointed. “Do you know what happened after you died?” My mind is still showing me the world through warped eyes but I remain calm, I know this overwhelming feeling I am getting which circles my body. A sense of euphoria. This is the only chance I'll be able to talk with him.

“Well Danny, the world went to s**t is what happened. You wouldn't believe me but I actually got clean. I was for some time and then madness hit the world. Like a bomb, sudden and devastating it shook everything. As you can imagine Mum and Dad ran using the first chance they could. They never cared about us. We had each other, right? I doubt they regretted it, they went to join some group. I saw them earlier, being as stupid as ever. The two of them. They didn't even have the decency to say two words to me.” Are these tears? I can feel them scraping sharply down my face, plummeting to the floor and then, they are left as less than a dot on the floor. The walls around me are still like the sea. They still wave with the beating of my heart. What little light around me is glowing and dancing to the sound of the silence which fills the air. I take it all in, breathing deeply and calmly. It'll be over soon. Huh? Blood? My nose, it's bleeding. The crimson ooze seeps out from my nose, trying to escape my body. The blood. The blood is escaping. My eyes are growing weak. Tired, I need to sleep.