The Afterlife: Chap 2 The Shooting

I screamed as a white light blasted through the hallway that I was just in. Wind busted through the stairway and pushed me against the wall.

I grabbed for a step and pulled myself up to it, trying to breathe against the gushing wind. Dust clouds hit my face and I closed my eyes. I heard yelling, bodies falling and loud cursing at the doorway, but I didn’t stop to think about it. Gunshots suddenly came from the hallway. I forced myself up the stairs, having to fight against the raging wind that was making the house shake from under me. My foot slipped and knocked me back a step. I fell against the stairs and felt the bruises line up against my bare thighs. I yelled in frustration, gripping the stairs edge, as the wind pushed me hard against the wall.

I groaned against the pain, but pulled myself up and eventually came to the second floor landing. I looked ahead and saw glass doors that led to the second floor balcony. I pushed them open and looked for a way out, but only saw that jumping would be about my best option. I ignored the idea and thought about climbing down. I heard more yelling and gunshots. I looked back for a second.

If I stay and hide in a room, how will that end? I asked myself.

I started to climb over the tarnished, white railing, but was stopped by the sound of yelling on the balcony underneath me. I looked and saw the five figures running from the house, three of which were carrying guns. I sucked in air and lost my footing. I fell forward and quickly flailed my arms until I gripped onto something. I hung onto the edge of the balcony for dear life. A gunshot rang in my ears and I saw pieces of wood fly up in the air close by me. I screamed and started panicking.

I kicked my legs to find anything to help me get up, but there was nothing but air.

“There you are!” A voice yelled down not far from me and then the gun shot. I screamed as I let go without really meaning to. I fell through the air and landed hard on my back, my head hitting the harsh ground.

“Madison!” I heard Alex yell. I yelled out in pain. All I could think of was my leg and how everything else hurt. My leg felt the worst though. I put a shaking hand to my upper thigh and raised it up to my face. I saw blood. A lot of blood. I cried out and saw Alex coming out of the house with a large, bulky gun in one hand.

“Help,” I managed to say in a sob. Alex squatted down next to me and looked me in the eye. He put a hand to my forehead and talked calmly. His eyes looked darker than they normally were.

“You’re okay, Madison. Everything is going to be fine,” Alex whispered to me. I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. My vision started to blur and my eyelids started to get heavy. The pain slowly left my body.

“Ale…” I muttered.

 

 

I stood in the field, my white dress flowing with the wind and gently kissing my legs. I smiled and looked to see if he came to visit me again. Instead, I saw the tall grass blow in the wind. I took in a breath and released it. I pushed my hair back with my hand and let the wind continue to blow through it.

“Where are you?” I asked, wrapping my arms around me.

“Right here.”

 

 

I woke up, but didn’t open my eyes. My face didn’t feel hard and firm with mud like I had been used to for the past week and a half. I was incredibly warm and ran my hand over a thick blanket wrapped snuggly around me. A pillow was resting underneath my head. I slowly opened my eyes and felt pressure ball up and make a nest inside my head. I groaned and put my hands to my head. I felt all of the mud and dirt was gone and was replaced with soft skin as I ran my fingers along my face.

“Good morning, Madison.” I gasped and shot up only to fall back on the couch. Pain coursed through my veins and my head screamed in agony. I clutched my hand to my forehead.

Alex came to lean in front of me. I opened one eye and looked at him. He was wearing a grey hoodie and baggy shorts. The sunlight showed the details of his face that I didn’t notice the night before. His eyes were like blue crystals and the tips of his hair were a lighter brown, almost blond. His face was sharp and his eyes had a look to them that made him look childish yet manly. He didn’t wear shoes which I guessed was his typical style based on what I had seen him wearing the night before.

 “What happened last night?” I asked weakly.

“That’s typically what frat partiers say,” Alex said, a smile playing at the edge of his lips. “You don’t remember?”

“I…,” I muttered, looking away and then back at him. Alex raised his eyebrows a little and my heart rate shot up. “I got shot,” I replied, sitting up and throwing back the covers. My leg was professionally bandaged in thick gauze, but didn’t hurt. I looked at him with curiosity and then remembered him carrying a gun. Then flashbacks started popping into my head. The wind and the light, the gunshots and yelling, me falling off of the second floor balcony. I opened my mouth and my breathing started to quicken.

“What happened, Alex? What was all of that? All of that, that happened?” I asked, starting to worry. I ran my fingers through my hair as I thought about it all. My fingers caught something and I pulled it out to see that it was a small twig.  “Why does my leg not hurt?” I frantically asked.

“Before I answer your questions, I need you to eat. As weak as you are, you won’t heal until you’ve eaten something. Water will help that headache, too,” Alex replied, his face stern and sharp. He stood up before I could protest and began walking to the kitchen.  I forced my breathing to calm down as I looked at my leg. I looked up to see Alex turning the corner and disappeared behind the wall.

 “What have I gotten myself into?” I asked myself in a whisper, my gaze watching after him. I looked over at the window that was behind me and saw the sun shining through the branches of the trees. It was beautiful, but I groaned at the sight of sunlight and shrunk back down on the couch.

The wall across from me made my curiosity grow and I furrowed my eyebrows in concentration. I hadn’t noticed the large painting of a woman that hung crooked on the wall. The painting was half of the size of the wall with dust lined along it. The woman had a hard look with long, brown hair that flowed down her back. The woman wore a loose, yellow dress that fell to the floor in ripples with her fingers intertwined in front of her. She stood with her side toward me, her face looking directly at me. The frame was old and dusted with gold paint that had chipped and dulled over the years.

I folded my arms across my chest as chills went across my body in waves. I looked into the hallway. Alex stirred around in the kitchen, moving around dishes and pots. I looked toward the door and debated on creeping out.

“Don’t worry, the food is almost ready,” Alex called from the kitchen. The smell of breakfast soon met my nose. Water ran in the sink and the dulled sound of dishes being washed came to my ears. I looked at the front door harder.

I heard the sound of something being scraped off of metal, the sound of metal hitting water, then the sound of a drawer opening and closing. Alex walked out of the kitchen and into the living room with a plate in his hand, accompanied with a metal fork.

He held out the plate and utensil and I took it graciously, not bothering to look at the contents. I began to scarf the eggs and bacon down my throat, shoving large amounts of each into my mouth. Alex walked off and before I knew it, I had finished off the plate. I looked down and saw that it was empty and my stomach grumbled.

I sighed and started to stand up and take it to the kitchen, but Alex was by my side with another plate of food. Instead of eggs and bacon, a biscuit filled with red jelly and a good amount of off-white mush was on the plate. I looked at the mush and looked up at Alex.

“What is it?” I asked and looked down at the stuff. It had tiny balls in it.

“It’s grits,” Alex replied. I didn’t protest and he placed the plate in my hands with a clean fork. I ate the biscuit first, which didn’t take long, but then I stared at the “grits”. I had never heard of grits before. I took the fork, dipped it in the grits and placed it in my mouth. It wasn’t bad. It was gritty which I figured was where the term came from. I raised my eyebrows in content and began eating it.

Alex came back in the room and held out a bottle of water to me. I took it and drank half of the bottle. I looked at it and placed it gently on the cushion next to me. It had been about three days since I had drank that much water and wanted to savor it. I looked up at him and he had his arms crossed.

“What?” I asked, starting to get worried that he was mad or something.

“Just…curious, is all,” Alex replied. He went back to kitchen and came back with a dusty kitchen chair. It had originally had a red cushion, but not anymore. I looked up at Alex as he placed the chair in front of me. I started to feel nervous.

“Are you going to tell me why you chose the upstairs bedroom closet to hide in?” Alex asked. The window behind me casted light into his eyes making them appear clearer than they originally were. He didn’t seem normal. There was something about him that I wasn’t seeing. I picked up the bottle of water and started drinking.

“What happened to you, Madison. I didn’t chase off a bunch of nineteen to twenty year olds for no reason and I’m sure you don’t run around in your underwear in the woods looking like that,” Alex said, nodding to my crazed appearance. I took in a deep breath and thought for a minute.

“They were going to kill me,” I replied, setting the empty bottle next to me. I didn’t want to say any more just because I didn’t want to relive it.

“Why?”

“Because they can, I guess,” I mumbled. Alex sighed, knowing it wasn’t the full story. Instead, he looked at my leg.

“Do you need any medication?” I went rigid and looked at him hard. First because I wasn’t about to take medication from a stranger and second because I knew my leg was supposed to be killing me and it wasn’t. “No medication it is. You don’t trust me, do you?” Instead of answering, I looked at the picture of the woman.

“What happened last night, Alex?” I stated in a question, looking back at him. “Did you kill them with the gun? And why the f**k does my leg not hurt?”

“What gun? And I guess you just got grazed,” Alex asked and I looked at him in disbelief.

“You know what gun! The big bulky one! And my leg is supposed to hurt and it’s not. Alex, don’t play with my mind,” I threatened. My heart started to thump hard in my chest and my hands started to shake. Tears started to come to my eyes and I quickly wiped them away.

“Madison, you need to sleep now.”

“No, I don’t. Alex, please tell me…What are you?” I whispered. Alex thought for a minute. His eyes looked longingly into mine.

“I’m…Madison, I can’t tell you now, but I will,” Alex replied. He looked down at his hands and then back up at me. My heart jumped at the sight of his blue eyes.

“When will you tell me,” I asked, hoping for an answer. I swallowed hard. Alex looked back at the portrait of the woman and then looked at me.

“Who was she?” I managed to say, looking at the portrait myself. Alex continued to look at me, making me become self-conscious.

“She was…a friend of a friend. My best friend’s best friend, so to speak,” Alex replied. He looked at the portrait and I started breathing normally again.

“How old is your best friend?” I asked and looked at him. The picture looked like it was painted in the 1800’s at least and there was no way that Alex knew her. That would have made his friend at least one-hundred and ninety. At least.

“He was pretty old when I met him. Can’t remember the exact age, though,” Alex said, still looking at the picture. I watched his eyes look over it and saw something flash over his face, but was quickly gone. He looked over at me and my heart skipped a beat. I didn’t know why I was feeling so nervous around him, but not the scared nervous.

“Alex, that picture looks over a hundred years old, what are you leaving out? What’s going on,” I asked, getting ready to stand up. Alex placed a hand on my shoulder and my nerves started to calm down. I relaxed a little, but still felt on edge.

“Madison, do you believe in souls?” Alex asked. He looked me in the eye and I felt like shrinking back.

“What are you talking about?” I started pushing myself into the back of the couch, away from him. “How does that have anything to do with your best friend?”

“Madison, you are my best friend,” Alex stated and I started laughing nervously. Alex’s face turned serious and then placed his hand to my forehead. My eyes widened as I grabbed at his arm, but it was too late.