The Blues

They stood together, poised carefully on the sad faced linoleum. The room had an undermining smell of mildew from the way the water would gather in the ceiling as it came in from the roof, as if it were looking for a warm place to stay for the night. There were pans and bowls littered about the room, collecting the drops before they could hit the ground. The only sound they could hear was the leaking ceiling, and they did not mind it.
“There’s no one else working the shift tonight.” The first one said. He was tall and lanky, with arms that seemed to go on for miles. His hair, unwashed, was pulled into a hap-hazard pony tail with an elastic band he had found on his way into the building. A dirty cap was pulled down over his face, which lit up the room whenever he lifted it to meet the girls gaze.
“Shit,” She said, walking past him gently to fetch the rags that were always folded neatly in the cupboard, just the way she left them. Quietly, the boy observed her, and the way she quietly worked. The way her arms extended and pulled back in, the way she would cup her bruised limbs from time to time, as she thought about what had to be done, or where to go first. He bit thoughtfully on the inside of his lip, and tilted his head slightly before letting out a sigh.
“I swear we don’t get paid enough for this.” She said finally, turning and handing him a spray bottle. He smiled and agreed.
“Norah?” He asked timidly.
“Hm?”
“Do you want to go to dinner with me? After our shift?”
“Yeah, I’d like that.” Her eyes lingered in his for a moment, before she started up the stairs, and down the winding hallways of the time-worn building. He followed, as if tied to her, watching every step she made with somewhat hungry eyes.
There was a radio playing. The way the music poured through the speakers slowly, like molasses, suggested that time itself was slowing, but neither of the two noticed. A door down the hall opened quickly, and a short haired girl, resembling a pixie spilled into the hall, calling back to her boyfriend playfully. Norah cringed at her voice, high and nasally, backed by lies.
“Nor-ah!” She called, rushing over. The boy shot a look to his friend, and Norah shrugged back. He sighed, and went on cleaning the dingy windows, looking out and wishing he could experience the world.
“I really think you’re overreacting, Norah.” Said the pixie girl as she floated down the hall, tugging at Norah’s shirt sleeves with desperation and a need for attention.
“No, you’re overreacting.” Norah snapped, pointing an accusing finger at the unwanted companion.

“Haven’t you done enough to me? Haven’t you caused me enough heartache? You have everything you want. You have my misery, you have Jak; you have everything. Isn’t that enough? Jesus Christ.” She had a disgusted look on her face as she wheeled around to continue on her way. The pixie girl laughed. The radio broadcaster was talking about the rising number of casualties in South America, due to a terrible pandemic that seemed to come out of nowhere.
“They are called the B-L-U-E-S.” The man spelled,

“We have an officer from Peru on the line with us here to speak with us about the devastation.” There was a moment of static before a thick accented voice seeped through.
“Yes, I am here. And so are they. The devastation here is overwhelming. It will take our country years to recover. These young women that are infected; they’re so haunting. We’re not sure how it started, or how it spreads. We’re not sure why their name sets them off, but I assure you they are violent. Save yourselves, please, I cannot bare more bloodshed.” The man sobbed for a moment before composing himself.
“Please avoid this; please. You can’t understand the pain and the fear we all feel. Please. They are so angry, and so vacant. They are all so young…” The radio was silenced as Norah turned it off, clearly disturbed.
“What a crock.” She said finally, a nervous smile on her face as she attempted to make conversation with the boy, ignoring the girl behind her, chattering about complete nonsense that made Norah’s head hurt.
“Are you LISTENING?” The girl said, tugging viciously at Norah’s arm.

“Yeah, it sounds like it’s staged to me.” The boy said, nodding his head and moving aside so Norah could peek out the window modestly.
“You’re not listening. You’re not.” The pixie girl seethed unhappily. She grasped onto Norah’s bruised arm and glared at her, lips slightly parted in thought.
“Blues.” She said finally, and the world stopped.
There was a dull scratching, coming from nowhere. It turned into a vicious screeching, as if someone were running nails down a chalkboard. No one moved. The windows shook violently, and burst into dust. A girl, broken necked and blank eyed came in, mauling the blonde boy without hesitation.
“ERIC” Norah screamed,

“Eric, Eric, Eric.” That was the first time he ever heard her scream his name, and it was the last thing he heard. The pixie girl gasped and looked at the way the Blue reared up. She observed the way her neck hung to one side, and the way her eyes stared blankly into her, past her, into another place. She wondered momentarily if it was an illusion.
“Run.” Norah said, grabbing onto her arm.

“Run.” And they did. Down the winding hallways, through doorways and into a mild winter night. The sun hadn’t set yet, and they were both silently thankful. Calmly and quickly, the Blue marched out behind them. It stared ahead, past both of them, and stayed a comfortable distance away.
The pixie girl was screaming as they ran.
“Will you SHUT UP?” Norah asked, looking at her with desperate eyes.

“Will you please stop screaming? Christ, you’re making it walk faster.”

“I don’t have my inhaler,” The girl cried, panic washing over her.

“I can’t run.”

“You’re doing just fine, if you ask me.” Norah said, correcting herself while tripping.
Fear was choking Norah, fear of death. She begged God not to take her this way. She begged for him to please, let her wake up. She couldn’t comprehend why her legs would not allow her to run faster than the Blue, why her stride was so slow compared to its quick steps. Norah took note of the way her lungs burned as they turned a corner and glanced back. It wasn’t there. She didn’t want to look forward, for fear it would be standing in her path, with that grin on its face. Thankfully, it wasn’t.
“We need to get help. We need to go somewhere.” The pixie girl sobbed, putting her hands on her head and knotting her hair around her fingers.
“Stopping in the middle of nowhere won’t help us. Stopping at someone’s house won’t benefit anyone. You know that.” Large hazel eyes looked at Norah, hurt.

“Can we try?” She pleaded.

“Please? I bet Addison would take us in, just for a little while. Please, Norah, I’m tired.” Norah didn’t say anything, but looked down the road ahead, and upon seeing the dead end she decided it was probably for the best. She looked back over her shoulders, and still saw no sign of the Blue. That terrified her. The two girls stormed up the cracked stairs of the blue house and knocked on the door in a panic. Addison, no taller than Norah, opened the door cautiously.
“You two are on the news.” She said slowly, hesitant about letting them in.

“Please,” the pixie girl begged.

“Please let us in. We’re so terrified.” She pushed past Addison, and quietly observed the darkness of the room. Addison locked the door and pulled the curtains shut tightly, sliding to the ground next to Norah, who hid her face in her hands.
“It’s here.” She said somberly, tears brimming in her eyes.

“Oh, god, it’s here.” Norah rubbed her eyes.

“Shh. Everybody calm down. Just stay quiet.” She peered out of the window and watched the girl circle the house, stopping occasionally to move branches of shrubs aside. The door opened quickly. Addison’s mom spilled into the room, breathless.
“It was asking for you two.” She said, voice cracking.

“I told it that you ran into the woods. God, help us. Please don’t do this to our family. Please leave.” Norah shook her head.
“Cant we wait for it to go? Please? Just five more minutes.” Addison’s mother, a short, round woman, crossed her arms with a concerned look on her face.
“I swear, if something happens to my house…” Norah looked away, not promising anything to her. She glanced out at the Blue, pacing madly around the house just before stopping and turning abruptly, making its way up the street. Norah held her breath. She wondered if for every second she went without breathing, God would give her a minute longer to live.
“It’s gone. Please leave.” Addison said cautiously, unlatching the door.

“Please.” She begged, biting her lip. Norah sighed and got up.

“Okay. Let’s go.” She said to the pixie girl as she walked to the door.

“What if it’s waiting for us?” She asked, clenching onto Norah’s shirt.

“Then it’s waiting.” She sighed, unable to produce a comforting answer. They started down the road in silence, no noise coming from the world except for their shoes on the pavement. The pixie girl was crying silent tears.
“What about my boyfriend?” She said finally.

“I never said goodbye to him. I miss him. He’s probably so worried.” Norah clenched her jaw.

“Yup.” Was all she could manage. They reached the end of the road, and cautiously looked around. There was no one in sight. They continued down, taking a right and tensing up as they slowly went down a hill. No one was on the road. No one was in their yards. No lights were on the houses. They neared the highway, able to see the openness of the road, and the ways that they could go. Norah lived across the way, and she knew she could get help there.
“Let’s go to my house,” She started as they reached the intersection.

“It’s right across the way. Come on.” The pixie girl stopped in her tracks and shook her head.

“I have a bad feeling about that direction. Let’s take a right instead.” Norah rolled her eyes.

“No. Stop jerking around, and let’s go. We’re wasting time.” She extended her hand, in hopes the pixie girl would take it. She stood still and shook her head, backing away from crooked fingers she knew Jak had always admired on Norah; the ones she never had. She didn’t have any quirks like Norah did. She couldn’t stand to be near her anymore. She couldn’t stand knowing she would never have what Norah did. That she would never have the capability to be as strong as Norah, to bare the pain she carried. She had said sorry millions of times, but knew it meant nothing at this point. She knew that every time she spoke, she was digging her claws into Norah’s heart, as if it were a scratching post. She envied the emotions that Norah bled, and how the colours of them ran together and pooled at her feet like diamonds. She knew these things, and wanted so badly to be her. If only she could switch places with Norah…
“Are you coming?” Norah yelled, halfway across the road. She looked back at the pixie girl, expressionless on the curbside.
“No, I’m going this way.” She yelled finally, turning away from Norah and heading in a completely different direction. Norah was relieved to be free of her, but was irritated by the thick silence that surrounded her. Her house stood lonely on the roadside, looking down on her with its disappointed eyes, the light from inside asking her where she’s been. She knocked quietly on the door, and her father opened it. He looked ashamed.
“We heard about you on the news.” He looked over her tired body, and the way mud had dried on her face. He sighed and had guilty thoughts about shutting her out in the darkening world. He called his youngest down; Norah’s only sister, and asked for her to stand with Norah. The curly haired girl, who may have been called Adria, shook her head abruptly.
“I don’t want to go out there, Dad.” She said, fright leaping up her throat. He wouldn’t meet her eyes, and felt ashamed.
“Listen to your father, Adria.” Called her mother from the depths of the house. Norah sighed with disgust and pushed by her family, walking to the kitchen and leaning against the island.
“Kill it.” Her father said, forcing a gun into her hands. It was cold to the touch and heavy in her hands.

“Kill it before something happens to us.” He spun to face his youngest with sad eyes.

“Go with her.” He pointed to the door.

“Let me take the car, Dad.” Norah said, reaching out to feel the cloth of her father’s shirt.

“Absolutely not.”

“I can’t keep on running. It’s scary, Dad. Christ, at least have decency to protect me.” He shook his head.
“You can’t even drive, Norah.” She scoffed at his reply.

“It’s obviously not rocket science if you can do it.” She started toward the garage doors, taking they keys to her mother’s car off the hook. She opened the door and turned to face her sister.
“Are you coming?” She said nothing, but nodded. The pair piled into the car and Norah slid the key into the ignition, hoping that she wouldn’t completely screw things up.
“You can’t drive.” Adria said finally, shaking with the gun in her lap.

“Christ, Norah,” She said with a moan.

“You’re going to kill us. You can’t fucking drive.” Norah turned her head to face her sister.

“Don’t use that language, Adria. You’re only eleven.” She started the car and turned around after putting the car into reverse. She held her breath as she backed out slowly, praying that she didn’t hit anything while ignoring her sister’s cries.
“I’m twelve; I’m twelve, twelve, TWELVE.” She whined, bouncing in her seat with frustration. Norah didn’t acknowledge her, and started down the road. She silently pondered what to do, turning down countless roads that she had never traveled before, hoping to turn up somewhere. Occasionally she’d furrow her brow as she drifted over the center lines, and would correct herself. She wasn’t sure where she was going, or where to find the Blue that she knew was lurking, waiting for her in the growing darkness. She flicked the lights on and searched the roadway for something, anything that would point her in the right direction.
There was a flash of movement on the left side of the car, and in her panic, Norah pressed the breaks too hard, throwing her younger sister towards the dashboard. She let out a small scream, Norah quick to shush her. She never turned her head, but scanned the road and the woods in silence. A deer quietly passed in front of the car, and Norah sighed with relief, pressing back into her seat and closing her eyes.
“Norah?” Her sister asked, tapping on her arm violently.

“Norah? Norah? NORAH? NORAH!” Norah opened her eyes and let out a cry. There, in the road, was the girl. She tried to place where she had seen her, where she recognized her smile from. She wondered if she had been beautiful once, if she had ever fallen in love. She wondered what her eyes were really looking, and if she liked what she was looking at. The girl raised her arm, pointing at Norah accusingly. Norah looked at her arms, and observed the bracelets that hadn’t been there before. She searched her memory for where she had seen them, and decided they had belonged to the pixie girl with half a heartache. She saw the poorly tied knots, where they had been retied. She wondered how many of them were from Jak, how many the pixie girl had made herself. She felt like years had gone by, sitting in the car and observing the Blue. She felt a tug at her shirt.
“What do I DO, Norah? What do I do?” Her sister had begun to sob and hold the gun in her shaking hands. Norah licked her lips, eyes never lifting from the girl in the road.
“Blues.” She said finally, pressing hard on the gas pedal.