A Short Story : A Story?

The sun was high in the sky, gleaming down on us. The air was breezy, but not cold. The day was ordinary, or so it seemed. But what was out of place? That would be my brother, the only person who could possibly get himself into such a situation, with his impossible ability to almost die, but just miss the mark. As he sat there on the ground with his back to us, legs sprawled out in front of him, we didn’t even realize that there was anything wrong. Hold on a second. Let’s rewind this just a little.

Leaving the motel on Highway 74 around 3:00 o’clock, Marlene drove faster than usual to get home ahead of Jerry and Andrew. Smiling, her thought lingered on the last few hours spent with her lover. Pulling into the garage, Marlene parked her Mercedes, brushed her hair put on fresh lipstick, before going into the house, relieved she was home when her husband and father-in-law arrived. Wanting to surprise them, she went into the kitchen to make a pot of coffee, sat down at the counter and glanced through the mail.

Madeline stopped dead in her tracks when she saw that Gabriel’s things were gone from the room when she returned. Had he left her? She shook her head, trying to calm her anxious heart. Gabriel didn’t seem like the type that would just up and leave because she was uncertain about what she wanted. It seemed more likely that he had just moved to a different room.

Her mind grew fuzzy when she stared into her father's eyes, “Barry.” Was the only thing she could bring herself to muster out when she heard that Cisco had succeeded in bring him back home, back to Central City with her, where he belonged. The Iris West he had fallen in love with, was she still that same person? She tired to do what he told her too. She tried to keep running, never stopping to look back and in the process she lost a part of herself. She put up walls, never allowing the others see her mourn for the man she had lost to the speed force, the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. It was changeling trying to convince everyone around her she wa fin when she wasn’t really fine. She feared at any given moment she would lose what little composer she had, crumbling to the floor in a pool of tears and heartache. She might not have been the Iris that he had fallen in love with all those years ago, but hopefully with help from him she could pick up the broken pieces of herself, putting them back together the best she could. So she could somewhat resemble the woman he once knew.

The light was shining on Evangeline's face as she opened her eyes. Her head was throbbing and as she looked around her, she didn't know where she was at. It wasn't until she saw Mason and Casey sleeping beside her on the pillows that she remembered everything. The dancing and food and the new hideout. The alcohol and the laughing. The bright light. The loud noises. Everything. The world has died back to normal, no longer having the sharp clarity it had the night before. Her mouth was really dry though, so she climbed down the ladder, trying not to wake the others. She quietly crept to the mini-fridge in the corner of the room and pulled out a glass of water. They didn't have any Tylenol, so this would have to do for now. She ungraciously chugged the bottle of water and sighed, plopping down on the nearest beanbag and closing her eyes.

Somewhere in the Hoenn region, a young man was waking up to the dawn of a new day. What a tme to be alive, Sinan thought caustically, as he rose from his bed sleepily. At 7 AM in the morning, light was beginning to filter through the wooden slats in soft beams. As the grogginess ebbed away, he remembered that all trainers had to be present in the lab for the Beginner's Ceremony by 8 AM. The way he heard words could be screwy sometimes, and he wasn't the best at writing, but reading and details he paid attention to extensively. So he rose from the bed and pulled on a faded pair of ragged jeans, before heading to the bathroom to wash up and making himself look presentable, his mind was swirling with thoughts. Can't believe I've finally saved up enough for this, he thought, a slow grin spreading across his broad cheekbones and deepening into dimples. I'm so f*ckin' ready, and he'd never felt more excited in his life. F*ck school, f*ck working-- Sinan wanted to go out and explore his heart out again. Get away from the quiet monotony that depressed him so.

His feet sunk deep into the fresh snow as he picked his way down the sidewalk, hood up, watching the crystal flakes drift past and fall onto a silent street. It was dark enough for his vision to be blocked, 5:30 at night. Malaki was out without parental permission, but he didn’t care. He was sixteen, he could make his own decisions. He was out “studying” with a few friends, if studying means partying that is. His parents should’ve been in bed when he got home but just in case Maliki would sneak in through his window. He crawled in his window, the room pitch black. He went to turn his light out but his mom had beat him there. She flicked his lights on and crossed her arms. Her husband shook his head.

Nadia stretched lazily and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She threw her comforter off her bare legs and slowly climbed out of bed. She picked up her old clock, and as she read the time, she jumped in alarm and quickly headed to the shower.

Lucy, startled, sat bolt upright in bed. She stood there puffing for a moment, before lying back down, the old bed creaking under her weight. Her mind was racing. The strange woman in her dream seemed so familiar that she could have sworn it was -

Everything began that night with the ringtone of my phone, echoing through my dining room.

Snow was a blanket upon Atlas’ austere domain, almost blindingly glistening against the waning sun. The chilling breeze bit at cheeks and battered noses until they were tinged pink. Children wandered the streets with deftly-crafted snowballs and prepared for a winter’s war while adults huddled cozily inside by the crackling fire. The bitter, arctic season was upon them.

Shelby, a 14-year-old girl woke up to the smell of pancakes on a warm fall morning. She put a sweater on and ran downstairs to find her mother cooking an appetizing breakfast. Her mother said, “What are your plans for today sweetheart?” Shelby replied with her list of chores she had planned to do. Shelby ate her pancakes and bacon, washed her plate, and then jumped in the shower. As soon as she got out of the shower, she put on her clothes and headed out the house. Before she left, she invited her friend Amanda to spend the day with her. The two girls agreed to meet at the local coffee shop in their neighborhood. While Shelby walks to the coffee shop which is 2 miles away she started feeling the urge to sing the Disney World theme song. She thought it was because she had watched a movie about Disney World the night before, so she whistled the song while she walked. Once she got there she bought a large coffee and sat with her friend Amanda, they talked about school and life. All of a sudden Shelby heard the Disney song “Hakuna Matata” playing in the coffee shop overcome and she told her friend Amanda that she loved the song. Amanda looked at her strangely and said, “Okay whatever” and then Shelby looked at Amanda strangely. Shelby said, “Don't you hear Hakuna Matata playing?” Amanda said, “What are you talking about”, “ The music don't you hear it?” “No, I don't” “Ugh, whatever let's just go to the park.” Walking to the park the girls stopped at the library to grab a book.

Flying through nighttime, I raced with my fellow ghost friend Laura on the abandoned roads.

“I don’t know why she did this to me,”Christopher whimpered to himself, stuck on the fourth floor. “I just hope no one ever goes through what I went through. Then they get thrown up in this old, rundown room, with white tile, that smells like the corridors of a hospital from all the chemicals and cleaning supplies she uses to cover up her mess, like me.” Christopher

Jason was strolling down the gloomy back street, its walls dark and menacing. He had trekked this path many times, but this time it got him on edge. He felt as if he was trapped by the massive buildings around him. The faint smell of dust covered him as he walked down this dusty and aged street. He emerged from the dark and gloomy street to be blinded by the intense light of the sun. Noise of the busy people bustling around him surrounded his ear. He turned to follow the main stream of people, his grey eyes scanning the crowds as he walked to try to find his friends. Spotting them, he barged his way through the crowds to get to them. A random person barged into him knocking his leg, then with searing pain, his leg flared. He searched his leg to find the source of pain and found his chip digging into him causing blood to pour out. Thinking to himself he wondered what these chips were even for. He looked up to see the massive buildings create what seemed to be walls surrounding him, leaning over him. Everyone around him seemed so cheerful, yet he couldn’t see how they could be in such as desolate place, they all seemed to be oblivious.