Red

My eyelids felt like lead weights as I tried opening them, squinting against the harsh white light. The sterile smell of what could only be a hospital assaulted my nose and made my eyes water.

I hate hospitals.

I hate the smell of the sick and dying. I hate the smell of the cleaning agents they used to try and cover it up. I hate the false hope and cheer the staff spread. I hate the pity in their eyes.

I hate the waiting rooms most of all, full of old magazines and crying families. On one side, someone was told their husband was alive. On the other, someone’s little brother died in surgery. In each scenario, there was always someone in tears.

This time upon opening my eyes, I forced them to stay open. White walls stared at me from all sides. A baby-blue couch with two chairs on either end of it were pushed up against the wall to the right of me. Facing me was a television and next to it was the door to the bathroom. There was nothing but a plain door on the left.

I sighed and glared at the screens of the monitors that surrounded me. Their blinking and buzzing was giving me a headache. I pondered the idea of massacring every migraine-inducing object/person on the planet. Going on a killing spree would probably help ease my boredom. I chuckled at the macabre scene I created in my head.

The blood drained from my face as the picture turned from a playful, mildly bloody image to something much more terrifying and gruesome. I shut my eyes tight, willing for the vision to disappear. It didn’t.

The sky was an impossibly dark red with swirling gray-black clouds. Broken trees and burnt foliage were blackened and shining in the red light. The ground beneath my feet was squishy unstable. I tripped on something and fell onto tree trunk. My arms grasped for hold on the slippery bark. The tree smelt odd. I slowly pulled away, my eyes focused on my hands and arms, which were shining with a red substance. I had a funny taste in my mouth. Tangy and coppery like...I screamed. Thin, black, leafy tendrils were quickly winding up my legs. I jerked around and grabbed at the plants, but they only tightened and moved faster. Salty tears mixed with the foreign blood that covered the right side of my face. The vines wrapped around my neck, gently squeezing. I panicked, trying to move my arms. The tendrils strengthened their hold. A hoarse scream ripped from my aching throat.

Shattered bones and ripped organs started to rise from the bloody forest floor. Cracked skulls with rotting brains and decaying skin littered the area. Bloated, broken bodies began piling, one on top of the other, the smell of rot and decay perfuming the hot air. I gagged. Fluids dripped out of the lifeless bodies that were impaled on branches high up in trees. Intestines were draped on branches like garland on a Christmas tree. Giant, mutilated crows were scanning the region, occasionally swooping down to snatch up a loose eyeball or nose. I cried and the vines constricted me further, nearly cutting off my air supply. The crows eyed me hungrily, waiting impatiently for me to choke and die. The prospect had me sobbing.

The air suddenly shifted, the moistness gone and replaced with an icy chill. My breath came out in visible puffs that seemed to crystalized immediately. The foliage around me turned icy blue, surrounded with thick ice. The red sky turned white and the clouds froze. Blood and other bodily fluids became suspended in ice. A thin layer of frost covered my body. The area looked like a demoniac winter wonderland.

A swarm of crows suddenly dropped to the ground, cawing and advancing towards the tree in front of me. Without warning, the crows fell over, dead. Frost instantly covered their bodies. I watched in horror as a large crack formed in the tree. Frigid bark peeled away from the trunk as the chasm widened and lengthened. I screamed when a hand appeared from out of the gap, gripping onto the edge. I froze when the tree suddenly stopped shifting, a gapping black hole extended along its trunk. I shook when a second hand appeared out of the darkness. Legs, arms, and a torso quickly joined them. I wanted to shut my eyes. I didn’t want to see this creature’s face.

I couldn’t even blink as the creature fully stepped out of the darkness. He was tall and muscular, his skin a light tan color. Black hair flopped lazily over bone-white eyes. The man-like creature was handsome, with sharp cheekbones and full lips. But I could hardly focus on his appearance, only staring openly at the large black wings that fanned out behind him. They resembled raven wings, but a sturdier version. Each wing was probably fifteen feet wide and twenty feet long. With every step he took, the feathers ruffled, a rainbow-like shine passing over all of them. He was the most beautiful and fearsome creature I’d ever beheld.

The man stopped within a few feet of me, his head cocked to the side like a curious child. But there was nothing innocent about him. That was proved when he suddenly grinned, revealing a dazzling array of white teeth. Two long, pointed fangs replaced normal human incisors. My breath hitched and my mind went blank.

I blinked and he was directly in front of me, barely an inch from me. My eyes widened and I could barely breath. The man chuckled, apparently amused by my fear.

“I expected something much more than this,” he mused, tugging a lock of my hair. The urge to twist away ran through my muscles, but I might as well have been dead. My brain was disconnected, the wiring hanging loose.

“But I can’t do anything about that, now can I, little one?” His finger tips danced along my cheek. His skin was boiling hot. I could barely form a coherent thought in his presence, much less answer a question. I had a feeling he wouldn’t care about my answer, anyways. I swallowed loudly.

He leaned in and inhaled, his nose skimming along my jaw. His journey ended at my ear, his cheek just resting against mine. His lips parted and he whispered, “Danger is coming, little one. I suggested you prepare for the battle, before it is too late. Mercy is not known amongst our kind.” He smirked. I gulped.

The creature leaned away from me, starting back towards the mutilated tree he’d appeared from.

“Beware, little one. No one is as they seem.” With those words, the great winged creature folded back into the tree, the trunk restoring to it’s original shape. The moment the tree was once again seamless, I was ripped out of the vision and shoved violently back into the real world.

I lay on the uncomfortable hospital bed gasping and covered in sweat. I’d never had a vision that had felt so real. In my usual visions, everything was hazy and unclear. I normally could barely understand what the entity was saying. I gagged, remembering the awful smell that had permeated the air. It was so thick, I could taste the rotting flesh and burnt skin. I felt myself slipping again, blackness sweeping over my eyes. I was falling down a dark tunnel...

No! I shook myself violently. No, no, no!

I inhaled the clean, sterilized air of the hospital. I’d had quite enough visions for one day, thank you very much.

I sighed and snuggled into my pillow, trying to get my brain to stop having a one-sided discussion on the winged man and his strange warning. Just as a warm mist floated over my eyes, a loud crash sounded in the hallway, followed by a high-pitched scream.

“Watch where the hell you’re going! Do you know how much these shoes cost? You couldn’t even afford them with a years’ salary!”

Oh no.

“I’m sorry, I-”

“I don’t freaking care! Watch where the fuck you walk, or I’ll be walking all over you with my attorney!”

I only knew one person who would pitch a fit over scuffed shoe wear. And she could only be at St. Michael’s Hospital for one reason.

That reason would be me.

Before I could pray or barricade the door, it flew open, revealing a thin blonde girl. She had on a purple tube top that was having trouble restraining her breasts and super tight neon pink skinny jeans. Her green stilettos added about six inches to her frame, but even then, she was only about five foot five.

Deborah stalked into my room, her annoying heels clacking against the tile. Why the hell couldn’t I have a carpeted floor?

My head throbbed in time with the noise and my temper was increasing with every step Deb took.

Deb leaned against the edge of my bed. “You look like shit.” She smirked.

“What the fuck do you want?” I spat, glaring. Deb returned the look and leaned over, placing her hands on either side of my thighs. She placed her face an inch away from mine, eyes narrowed and lips pursed.

“Is that a polite way to speak to your dear cousin, Gemma?”

My eyebrows furrowed. There was something different about Deb, and it wasn’t just the implants. She seemed to move with more...grace, fluidity. Her face was a shade paler than normal and totally flawless. Her eyes were brighter, along with her teeth, which were perfectly straight. She probably had work done or something.

“If the cousin happens to be a plastic bitch, then yes.” I replied, smiling sweetly while clenching my fists. Deb hissed and clutched my thighs, her nails digging in through the thin blanket. I winced.

“Let go of me!” I wanted to slap her, but both of my arms were heavily bandaged and it hurt too much to move them.

“Don’t you fucking talk to me like that!” She snarled, ignoring my demand. Blood started to appear on the sheet around Deb’s fingernails as she increased her hold.

“Then tell me why you’re here!” I growled.

Deb sighed, then released my legs. I tried to ignore the pain that emanated from them.

“Very well,” She muttered, sitting up, “This is wasting my time anyway.”

I rolled my eyes, “If you’re planning on bitching and moaning, then please, leave.” I pointed, not without pinpricks of pain running through my arm, to the door. Deb looked like she wanted to beat me, but then smiled.

“Oh, Gemma. I think you’re going to be the one whining after you hear what I have to tell you.” Deb leaned back and smirked, not continuing.

I narrowed my eyes and inhaled sharply, my nostrils flaring. I hated it when people kept things from me.

“Tell me.” I demanded.

“Well, your behavior towards me has been less than satisfactory-”

“Oh God, how long have you been waiting to use that one?” I asked, “And Deb, using big words to try and sound grown-up won’t earn you any respect points.”

Deb glared at me. I smiled.

“You’re parents are disowning you.”

My grin faded and Deb’s appeared.

“Really. That’s it?” I kept my expression uncaring, but on the inside, my anger was bubbling hot under my skin. How could they do this to me? And they didn’t even have the balls to tell me themselves!

“No, there’s more. Since you will no longer be living with Aunt Jackie and Uncle Mike, Grandma Carol has graciously offered you a place in her academy.” Deb smirked, gauging my reaction. I struggled to keep my face blank. I didn’t want to give her any type of satisfaction.

I pursed my lips and gripped the sides of my bed. Grandma Carol was the meanest bitch to ever walk plant Earth. And I believe the only reason she exists is so she can torture me.

Carol has never liked me. For as long as I could remember, she treated me like I was the Anti-Christ. But instead of avoiding me like I was the Plague, she was always around me, constantly berating me and bossing me around. I felt like her slave.

So, being forced to attend her school was not on the top of my Things I Want To Do list. Carol would probably make me part-time janitor.

I didn’t bother with asking Deb what Carol’s motive was-it wasn’t that hard to guess. But there was one thing that I was curious about.

“Why exactly did my parents decided to severe me from their perfect existence?” It really peeved me off. In all honesty, pretty much all of my life I had been praying for a chance to get far away from my parents, but I’d wanted to leave on my own terms, not theirs.

Deb snorted, “You can’t guess?”

I grimaced and picked at my cuticles, a bad habit of mine. “I think I have a pretty good idea.”

“Your attempted suicide pretty much sealed the deal, Gem. They don’t want to be associated with someone as socially degrading as you.” I couldn’t help but wince at Deb’s words. My parents were obsessed with their image and reputation. Me...not so much. I was like a dead rose in the beautiful bouquet that was their life.

I sighed and rubbed my eyes. It had been a long day and I was exhausted from all the activity. “If that’s all, then you can just leave.” I told Deb, closing my eyes and leaning back into the bed.

“Who said I’m finished?” She challenged.

“Me. Now get the hell out before I call a nurse and tell her you’re bothering me.” I threatened, wishing I had the strength to remove her myself.

Deb huffed and stood, taking my threat to heart. The sound of her heels clacking against the tile again assaulted my ears and again I prayed for carpeted floors. I groaned internally when Deb paused, probably almost out of the room. I really didn’t feel like opening my eyes to look.

“The second you’re healed, they’re sending your ass up to Carol’s. And you must listen to her. She’s always right, Gem.” Deb said, her voice oddly serious. I didn’t even have time to open my eyes to glare at her before the door shut.

I stared up at the white ceiling, confused and upset. All the shit I’d learned stewed around in my brain and I could feel a headache coming on. I squeezed my eyes shut and groaned.

What the hell is going on?