I scrounged around behind the counter, still hearing Naomi’s body slam against the door. I found an old combat knife, that was covered in dust. ‘This will work,’ I thought.
“Let me in!” Naomi yelled, with a distorted voice.
I looked up, making sure the barricade was still there. It was still there, just moving slightly every time Naomi hit it. I thought back on my past.
I walked through the school halls, in a black, cloak like, coat, with black boots and black pants underneath. I always kept a knife on me, I was always worried about danger. My uncle had schizophrenia, so he told me there was evil spirits out there and I need to carry a knife. I didn’t really understand why he said that. That was, until he had been diagnosed. He didn’t want to go to an asylum, so, he shot himself before they could grab him. I still carried around that knife, worried that maybe he wasn’t the crazy one.
***
“Hi,” a girl’s voice said, sweetly.
“Umm…hi,” I said back, losing my train of thought. She was wearing a pink shirt, that had the logo of a panda on it. She was wearing a short, white, skirt with it, and had matching pink shoes.
“Want to see this cool bug I found outside?” she asked me.
“Ew, no,” I said, having a phobia of bugs.
“Ok. I am Naomi by the way,” she told me.
“I’m Nora,” I said back to her.
“Want to be friends?” Naomi asked, with a sweet smile.
“Fine, but, I’ll let you know, I carry a knife and I’m not afraid to slit your throat if you try anything,” I told her.
“Ok! We’re going to have so much fun together! We can eat at lunch, tell each other deep, dark secrets, eat yummy food, know each others birthd-” Naomi kept rambling on, all the while dragging me by my arm.
‘I don’t think she’ll ever shut up,’ I thought. I smiled to myself though, knowing that at least I had a friend. A lot of people didn’t want to be my friend, because of my uncle. The story had gone around the whole world. People were scared I might have schizophrenia too.
***
I stopped thinking about it. I went over to the place where that dressing room had been and looked around. I still didn’t find anything. I searched the other places, to no avail. The door smashed open. I ran and hid behind the counter, keeping my knife open and in my hand. I got up on my knees and looked a little bit over the counter. I could hear Naomi’s body crack and pop, and I saw Naomi, still crawling around in the grotesque position. I don’t want to kill her, but I will if I have to. Naomi got up from the sickening “U” shape she had been in, and got back up on her feet. She looked around, sniffing the air, searching for me.
“Ring-a-round the rosie, a pocket full of posies, Ashes! Ashes! We all fall down,” I heard, over and over again.
‘Where is that coming from…?’ I thought, scared. I knew the origin of that nursery rhyme, and that is what really scared me. I don’t think Naomi heard it though, she just kept searching around. I got up slowly and started stepping towards the door. When I was walking, my foot bumped against a can that I had thrown into the barricade, not thinking.
‘Oh crap,’ I thought, scared Naomi heard that.
“Nora… come out… after all.. I do care about your life,” Naomi said, her voice still distorted.
‘Oh heck no,’ I thought. I rushed out before Naomi turned around. She may be my best friend, but, I am not going to let her kill me.
It was freezing outside, snow gently falling down. ‘Oh god, it’s freezing,’ I thought, shivering.
I walked around for what seemed to be hours, all the while freezing. I looked at all the abandoned buildings, hoping that I would see someone who wasn’t some monster.
‘There has to be somebody,’ I thought, trying to stay optimistic. I felt like crying, I felt trapped, but, most of all, I felt bad for Naomi.
I saw a piece of paper floating down and falling right in front of me. I bent down and picked it up. “Tu es mort” it said. I thought back on every French class I ever took, trying hard to remember what these words might mean.
It finally hit me. ‘You’re dead,’ I thought, understanding the words. “A-Am I dead…?” I stammered outloud. I didn’t want to know. ‘I have to keep moving forward. I can’t let Naomi catch me,’ I thought. I looked behind me, all I could see was a thick, white haze. ‘I have to get out of here,’ I thought. It was still freezing, as I crossed my arms over my chest. I exhaled and saw my own breath. I kept walking forward. What else could I do?
TO BE CONTINUED.
