New prologue

Writing is a process.. but I'm fairly happy with this version of the prologue. I'm admittedly nervous to post the rest... so I'll start with this

I am going to die.

This is it. My stupidity will be my death. That and this relentless rain.

I am sopping wet. My hair is clinging for dear life to my neck along with my clothes with a suffocating embrace. Perhaps it will kill me before the lightning does.

But I (the stupid one) am under a tree, begging for the lightning to kill me first.

If I had paid attention in science I might remember what I’m actually supposed to do in a storm. The one part I do remember is: don’t stand under a tree. Fantastic. We can blame this on my short attention span and my tendency to daydream about him…

I could go further back and blame this on Ava, since it is technically her fault. It was her who kissed him.

I scream, competing with the thunder. I hate her. I absolutely hate her. I bang my fist against the tree. Fat drops of water land on my neck from the leaves above.

I scream again.

Now the rain has an opinion on my anger too. It must mind its own business. I don’t need an extra water coating every time I want to get mad.

This sucks!

I stare at the gloomy, muddy state of myself in hopeless frustration. I’m stuck and it’s her damn fault.

She usually lifts me home. No way was I going to be in the same car as her today. It’s just a short walk across the park to my house; I figured I’d get there before the rain started. No such luck.

The sky is pretty much black now, and to top it off I can’t see anything. A thick mist has taken over the park and I can barely see my hand, let alone which direction the path is. I might have found the surrounding mist amazing under different circumstances… I hated the mist too though. Sure it didn’t end all hope of my life with a single kiss, but it sure is aiding and abetting my misery.

Stupid Ava.

I might as well die. She ruined everything. The lying, spiteful �"

I jump at the sudden thunder. It’s close. So close I feel the Earth rumbling beneath my feet. A blinding flash follows, briefly lighting up the forest of mist around me. This kind of mist shouldn’t be natural. It’s the kind one finds in a horror. The scene changes before my eyes. No longer simply surroundings, but eerie… like a darker force has suddenly enveloped the park. Silly… sure. But my skin is still prickling and I can feel myself shaking.

I try to breathe calmly. All that talk about dying; I was kidding. Of course I was kidding. I need to live. How else will I win him back? How else will I tell Ava…? I slowly reach for my bag, as if sudden movements might anger the sky. I swallow and wipe my blurry eyes.

I need to get out of here.

I know it with absolute clarity. I have to go right now. No logic matters, I am going to feel sick if I don’t obey my instincts NOW.

I run out into the open, heart racing as droplets bombard me. This isn’t rain; this is hell! I try to shield my face so I can see, but the mist is all there is. Lighting again, briefly giving a glimpse at the park. All I see are shadows, slinking between indistinguishable forms.

Just plants.

Just benches in the park.

That’s all there is.

I’m just being paranoid. I walk slowly now, feeling my way around. The path has to be around here somewhere! I’m so wet that I must be swimming instead of walking.

Then I see it. Lightning comes down in full force and hits a tree at the edge of the park. Sparks fly and there is a brief fire before the rain douses it. I scream.

Forget caution! I drop my bag and run.

Where is the goddamn path!?

I stumble, but catch myself. Another flash gives me the glimpse I need. There! The path. I feel the excitement and it spurs me on. I sprint along it, my feet cracking against the stones. I struggle to breathe and my legs are already aching, but I can’t stop. I push on. I have to get out of this park!

Another class I regret flunking. Gym.

Then I see blurred lights in the distance. Streetlamps if I had to take a guess. Thank goodness. I’m almost at the street. I’ll find some decent shelter there and I can finally relax. I run faster. Destination here I come.

Only suddenly the floor is gone and I’m tipping.

Flying straight towards the floor.

Head first.

Arms failing to catch me and I scream in pain.

I tripped.

My head is aching and I can’t move. I strain to look up. I’m so close! The street is right there. I even hear cars. I stretch my arms out and heave my body forward. My body shudders and I collapse. So much pain. My head is throbbing from where it hit the pavement and I start to feel a warmth pool around it.

No, this can’t be happening.

Panic. No. I mustn’t panic.

Each drop landing on me agitates me more. Somebody. Anybody. Help me.

The overwhelming heat that is scorching my head right now is slowly overcome by numbness even more frightening. I try to open my mouth to call for help, but I can’t seem to get it to obey. Nothing is happening. My vision keeps going white and then there are dark spots. Why am I so dizzy? Why is the floor spinning? Is it even spinning at all?

I have to stay awake and I have to get out of here. I can’t lose myself.

Light and thunder again. My whole body shakes. I slowly push my arms underneath me and stand up. I don’t trust my jelly legs. I hold myself up next to the tree by the path, trying to catch my breath. A dark puddle is on the path. My stomach twists in response.

I mustn’t touch my head. I need to stay conscious. I cannot concentrate on the blood.

A light blinds me briefly and I watch it, as if in slow motion, crack violently against the tree and then pounce at me �" the preferred target.

I don’t have time to scream because I am burning. My blood is boiling within me and melting the flesh on my bones. Surely I will melt into a little puddle. Disappear into ashes. Anything but this. Pain so excruciating I just stop. Everything stops.

I can’t think.

Black.

I open my eyes.

I feel pain everywhere. What happened?

I feel cold.

I don’t feel anything else.

Where am I?

The ground is hard. I… I’m…

Oh…

It comes to me in jagged pieces of searing pain and memory and I close my eyes. I don’t want to feel it again. It’s over, my miserable life. Nobody will find me, and I will die.

It’s still raining.

Then there is heavy breathing behind me. Someone is here to save me! I try to say something, but I can only gasp. Pain hits my throat and I make a strange scratchy screeching sound. Hospital. I need to say hospital.

A hand rests gently against my back. Help me please…

Hell is released from my lungs when I scream. Stop that! My back is being torn open. Like a laser slicing right through the middle. And this time I can’t even describe it. The pain is worse than ever. I am being split open and it feels like there is something being shoved inside. I scream still.

I am stretched from the inside. Everything is burning and tearing, and I feel like a poison has just been injected into everything. My whole body feels like cold dipped in warm water too fast. Whatever it is settles inside me, but we don’t fit. I let out a final gasp. I can’t take this.

I CANNOT TAKE THIS!

Death. I need to die. I don’t want this. I don’t want to feel anymore. I shut my eyes.

Enough.

.

.

.

“Wait!”

I hear a soft voice wrapped in warmth. Soft like a silk cocoon. I reach for the light. Slowly… like it too may burn, but it is soothingly cool and warm simultaneously.  Then I scream, flinching back into the darkness. The light hasn’t let me go though. I’m being dragged back up to reality.

Back.

The rain is still pelting. The ground is still hard, and my body feels used up. Battered. Finished. I try to slip back, but something isn’t letting me. I can’t escape. I shut my eyes and settle into the cool darkness. I’m still here…