She's So Gone

The echo of a man's scream broke through the darkness and crawled in shivers down my spine. My eyes fluttered open, though heavy, to the true dark of consciousness.

Where the hell was I? My body was jostling nonstop, out of my control.

Was I on someone's shoulder? I tried wiggling around a bit to see, and sure enough I was - my hand hitting a slender back, my stomach sinking uncomfortably onto a shoulder bone.

"Hey! Nicoletta! Come on! Get up!"

The fuck was that? Ugh...it sounded like that cunt at the bar. Raine. I wanted to laugh again at the silliness of her name but one, my mouth seriously hurt and, two, I was getting nauseous with this shoulder ride going on. Sounded like we were running...

Who's fucking shoulder was I on anyway? Tristan's?

"WAKE UP, BITCH!"

Oh.

I was getting tired of this slutbag incredibly fast.

"Alright, already!" I yelled back. "Quit screaming."

I slid off her shoulder - wondering how she'd been carrying me all this time meanwhile, along with why - and poised in the middle of the dark hallway to curse her out...before I realized four things.

The bitch kept running, not even looking back for me.

I had no fucking idea where I even was.

Tristan was nowhere in sight.

And I felt a familiar shiver down my spine - not the random kind. But the kind I got when in danger. And something told me I had my back facing the source of it. Not a good thing.

The sound of Raine's footsteps were fading fast. The dark held a dual welcome - to run with her. Or die.
...

My feet hit the floor like a steady slew of gunshots.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I couldn't truly see. I followed sound. Raine was always only a few feet ahead. Of course, I could've caught up, but it was better this way. She was like a star, I suppose, leading the way. As a matter of fact, that would've made a way better fucking name than the one she had.

It sounded like a stripper name, sure. But still. She looked like one anyway. Fucking whore.

A thud broke through the relative silence of the corridor. Then, another, accompanied by a groan. Two more, and the indigo of the night sky suddenly permeated the dark. Apparently, she'd been kicking open a door.

She stood waiting for me, only a slight opening for me to come through after her.

"Get that ass moving!!" She roared. She look frightened. I didn't reply, but sped up instead.

I flew through that crack as something boomed in the hallway a distance behind me. She slammed the shit closed in the same instant, and took off not even a second after.

"Wait!" I said, slightly breathy from running. "Where's Tristan?"

She didn't stop to wait like I'd said, and as for my question, she only looked back at me for a moment as she jogged away, and shook her head before she disappeared around a corner.

She'd left me alone in an alley at night, the unanswered questions the heavier of my problems, then. I took a second's pause before running off in the opposite direction.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Home.

Sweet? No.

Empty? Yes. But, for once. I wasn't adverse to the fact. I slammed the door and switched the lock, and stood there in the darkness - silent.

I didn't quite know what to do with myself. Tonight was just way too fucked up to shrug off like it didn't happen.

I mean...Tristan. Was dead? I didn't even know for sure.

I took a long deep breath, and exhaled everything inside of me at the moment. Every fuck I gave. It was the easiest way to deal for right now. And besides, they'd still be here in the morning - hanging in the air like ornaments.

I made my way through the shadow of my apartment, feeling sure that I needn't fear for any thing lurking in it. This was my home.

I was safe now.

My bed was cool with the time since I'd last lain in it, the satiny sheets comforting on my skin. I was still slightly drunk, and too tired to do anything but drift away into sleep, my face snuggled against a pillow.

Hours, in reality, passed but to my sluggish eyes, seemed like mere unappreciated moments. The morning was burning through my curtains with a quiet, bronze flame. It burned away the stress of last night with the fact that today was new. I sighed.

And a scream sounded in my uncovered ear. Faintly recognizable.

My body jerked with my effort to jump away from the sound, but for some reason I couldn't move a damn muscle. I remained frozen in the sprawled out state I had woken in; face smushed into the pillow, only part of my face free, my body flailed out in random directions along the soft, now warmed, bedding.

What the hell was going on?

And then, the oddest thing happened:

I heard Tristan's voice coo darkly in my ear, "Do you recognize that scream, dear?"