I see dead people
At least I have many ghost friends, like Casper
and heather chandler, who pukes cleaner in their afterlife
what about harry?
oh poor harry ... he just liked watermelon
watermelon sugar to be more specific
All he needs is cleaner to spice it up
I just killed my best friend!.. AND MY WORST ENEMY so...
why do we come to these options.
~Good H2O~
The night sky was covered in storm clouds, the woman wasn’t bothered by it, she was used to the rush of at any point the forest would just ignite into flames. She was sitting in her bed, reading her book, the light on her nightstand being the only illuminating her room. She put her bookmark in, she read the bookmark softly “Tonight is the night.” which enticed a chuckle from her before she closed her book getting up, walking downstairs to get herself a drink of water, she filled up the cup, and leaned on her counter, sipping her water before she heard a thud. She looked at where she heard the noise before the lights cut out. She set down her water and tiptoed away from the windows getting to a darker area where she ducked down and watched out, the lightning flashed and she saw a figure standing, holding a knife. At that moment her heart quickened its pace but she forced her breathing to be steady as she fully hid, just before lightning struck illuminating the area she was in. She sat in the darkness before she heard footsteps near her, making her go quiet, slowly reaching for an object grabbing it, and throwing it hit the floor and she heard the footsteps hurry to where they heard the noise. She got up and moved quietly to the stairs, slowly inching up them, she made it to the top before they made a creak, her looking back warily, seeing the man at the bottom, staring up at her, she rushed to her room, slamming the door shut and showing a small dresser in the way before she hid in her closet, staring out through the blinds. She hurriedly called her friend who lived a couple of minutes away, being quiet as she talked before the door busted in, the man walking through the room, checking under the bed he looked around before stepping out of her sight, she stood, waiting, the silence causing a ringing in her ears before the closet door was yanked open, she gripped his arms doing her best to keep the blade away. As it inched slowly to her before she kicked his leg knocking him down she tried to run but he stabbed her leg, enticing a yelp she turned and kicked him in the head knocking him out. She winced quietly as she saw headlights turning into her driveway. She limped her way downstairs doing her best to hold back the searing pain that was shooting through her leg, her friend came in and immediately called 9-1-1. After the ambulance arrived with the police she sat in the back, the police coming out, reporting that the man was gone. They promised they would routinely check the area, recommending her to stay somewhere else. After a few months she was back in her own home though always on edge she had motion lights up outside and in every room, a defensive weapon was set up somewhere. She sat, tracing the scar she had earned from that night staring off a support dog laying with her. She chuckled quietly, realizing the irony of her bookmark before she slowly drifted to sleep.
Camo Green Movie Scenes
You have this addictive personality
I’m popping you like pills
Throwing back the bottle cause I can’t get enough of how you make me feel
The world around me is spinning
the colors are so bright
All I hear is laughing
And your gentle breaths over the phone at night
I’m starting to think I’m dreaming
I’m walking over clouds
You’re what I’ve always wanted
And 8 year old me would be so proud
I don’t see why I have to throw it away
I’ll let it run its course
Cause time is only wasted when happiness is forced
But with you, I smile so easily
My laugh is genuine and true
I lead myself down all these different paths
But they always end with you
My thoughts are always spiraling with all that I could be
But My thoughts are always happier when I picture you with me
And maybe I could find someone else
Who lights me up inside
But I could never forget how you made me feel alive
I thought i had it figured out
Before you came along
And now i'm lost with one direction
Pointing me into your arms
I like the way it feels there
So comforting warm and safe
I feeling that I've come to realize i never want replaced
I like the way your shoulders feel soaking up my tears
The way you hold me so tight and let me know you are here
But your leaving soon
Your moving far away
Your doing such amazing things and i can not make you stay
Four years is a long time to be a part
A future I can't guarantee
But i'll always have a piece of and you’ll always have a piece of me
You've taught me things about myself i won't be able to forget
You believed in me
My future and my goals
You didn't just appreciate my surface but learned to love my depth
You learned things about me i thought no one would ever know
Everything i hated you taught me how to love
My rambling insecurities became my favorite parts of me
When i'd get stressed you’d remind me how to breathe
i never worried how i looked or what came tumbling from my lips
Because to you I was always beautiful
My words were always valid
not once were they dismissed
You listened to what i said and gave me your best advice
You were always authentically yourself
And didn't think twice
I'm gonna miss the way you made me feel
With you my life made sense
It was a movie I just wanted to watch over and over again
Under the blankets with a storm raging outdoors
Trying to Match my breathing with yours
Closing down restaurants on our first date
Cause you had so much to say and you just couldn't wait
The way you'd speed through my driveway music blaring dust flying
The way my mom always hated it and i could tell she wasn't lying
How you got so nervous when you shook my dads hand
And the way you spun me round and round
Dancing with me in the sand
When it’d get cold and you'd put your jacket round my shoulders
Leaving ponytails and bobby pins inside your cup holders
Talks about our futures until the sun comes up
Fights over the phone in my front yard when it got to be to much
Crying in closets and deciphering Instagram posts
Doing it all again cause your the one i wanted the most
Telling you it wouldn't be the same
You telling me you'd made a mistake
Late nights on moonlit shores
Music and laughing
I was all yours
“My whole world” you'd say with a smile
I started to think id stick around a while
But all movies end
You'll be dressed camo green
And i'll be back home re-watching my favorite movie scenes
- the beginning of an ending
I need to find something to do
I sit up and sprawl my body giving myself a pep talk to get my feet on the floor and butt off the bed
“I’m going on a run”
I put on leggings and a tank top, lightly stretch and start
I make it three blocks before I give up
My room needs to be cleaned desperately and smells of tortilla chips
I scrub my shower, finish some laundry, vacuum and put fresh sheets on my bed
Wipe off my desk and take out trash? I better
Well now what?
I sit on the couch and close my eyes
Daydreaming, something my mind has always been good at, is stronger today than ever before
I can picture the bright yet foggy forests I want to hike through
And all of the horizon lines against different oceans I wish to see
I can feel myself swimming through light water meeting new creatures
Healing some back to health, and keeping others to ensure their safety
I imagine making my rounds through my animal facility checking on and managing all of the animals
Extra time is spent with the sea lions who twirl to earn a herring fish and clap when one’s earned
My dream of working for an animal conservation has come true
I say goodnight to my animals and go home to a family
I cook dinner, shower and go to bed with a dog at my feet
But when I open my eyes there’s once again nothing to do
No animals, forests, or horizon lines
Just a blank wall and a small town with nothing to do
-olive
Welp, I've returned once more, but alas I am late. Why do I keep being late? I despise being late. Ugh, it feels terrible. I still don't know what to write about, I honestly just plan on starting and word vomiting anything out of my system. That sounds nice, disgusting but nice. Anywho welcome back dear readers of the crazy and sane I have come back to amuse you for the next 5- 15 minutes. So without further ado let us begin...
Okay so...
Sorry, want to pause to try a test. I'm happy, very happy exceedingly happy! Oh so overjoyed and brimming with dopamine and rainbow glitter! Well darn, my Grammarly still thinks this sounds sad and disapproving, and it hasn't even started yet! Ha! Oh well.
Okay so...
CJ was stuck in a car, not just any car though, his car. Trapped inside with the three other whackjobs he called his friends. Starting off in the nuthouse line-up they had Sajirianna AKA Saji, AKA the sassiest in all the land. She was sitting in the front passenger seat, scrolling through her phone and arguing over what would happen in a hailstorm on the sun planet. All of which was getting various remarks from their co-passengers. Beside her in the driver's seat was Jackson, Saji's boyfriend since freshman year. Who had somehow from close correspondence to Saji also become CJ's friend. Why was Jackson driving Cj's car you ask? Because CJ hated to drive, and Jackson loved CJ's car compared to his thirty-year-old "granny mobile". Jackson was also the oldest of the seventeen-year-olds, so there they had it designated driver. Even though there would be absolutely no alcohol on this trip. At all. Jackson was another part of the hail storm argument asking how could it hail on a planet that's never cold?
To which Saji responded, "Duh, lava hail." In the most diva voice known to all beings of the universe.
The third and final escaped convict of the car was the newest addition to their odd little gang. Preston, or Pres, was the president of their junior class and was perched in the back passenger seat. He was quietly listening to the conversation, throwing in little tidbits to the fire of words when it started to calm down. CJ was the vice president of their class he laughed when he realized this was anything but a professional trip, oh well not like he had known anything about it.
Three hours ago he had gotten home with the hope of face-planting onto his bead and sleeping through his seventeenth birthday. The problem was when he got there he was greeted by his parents holding a half-packed suitcase as Saji and the other two pulled into his driveway. CJ was then tugged upstairs to finish packing as Sajirianna explained the amazing trip they were kidnapping him for, without actually explaining where they were going. She did promise they wouldn't kill him. That fact wasn't very helpful though, he grumbled as he stared out the window watching car after car drive by them on the interstate. At one point he was shoved in the side by Preston and brought back to their conversation.
"You know we took you on this trip so you'd have fun on your birthday, instead of just sleeping through it! You just keep moping out the window. That's no fun at all!" Saji commented as she turned to glare him down.
CJ stared back, unamused by her antics, and simply said, "I'd stop moping if someone would actualloy explain to me where we're going! For all I know we'll get there and you'll kill me!"
We promised your parents we wouldn't murder you, that should all the information you need!" Preston said from beside him.
"Yeah, okay, great, I totally believe you. You three definitely won't kill me while my guards down. No, you'd never do that!" CJ sassed back.
"Stop bickering, or I'll turn this car around!" Jackson joked from the front seat.
"It's my car!!!" CJ retorted tiredly.
"Don't sass my boyfriend or we're not buying you a toy from McDonald's CJ!" Saji added while laughing.
"Oh great, the fake parent jokes have returned, and I'm not seven I don't want a toy."
"Sorry, the what?" Preston asked with a small snicker.
"Just forget about it, you'll figure it out soon enough on this trip," CJ said grumpily as he realized that had in fact just pulled into a McDonald's.
"I want that toy..." CJ mumbled quietly.
"Anything you want, hun. Saji joked from the front.
They each ordered at the drive-through, attained their food, and continued their journey in a much more tolerable mood. Once their trip ended the friends made true of their promise. CJ, in fact, was still alive.
Well, that took me way longer than what it should have, but it's okay. I hope you enjoyed it and that it makes enough sense. I'm gonna head out now, but as always have a magical rest of your day!
~ Ms. Magic ~
When there’s nothing to do, I….
Go for a drive and admire the sky.
I journal it up or read a good book
Or maybe go fishing and reel in the hook.
I do my makeup for fun
And go on a walk or run
I like to play volleyball
Or give my sisters a call.
I love to take a good nap
Or play with my dogs and cats.
Sometimes I go to wash my car
Or listen to music and sing like a rockstar.
I like to go and hunt for deer sheds
Or maybe paint my nails cherry red.
I like to organize my room
Or take my dad’s Chevelle out… vroom vroom!
I like to shop online
Or watch the bonfire shine.
I like to make popcorn in advance
And watch a good movie.. Specifically romance!
I find so much joy when I bake
And like to hunt when I have a break.
But, above all, I like to spend time with my family and friends
As my love for boredom never ends.
Im from a pretty brick house in the country
Im from a verdant backyard with the neighbors stray cats as regular visitors
-with a beautiful 3 sectioned tree my once tiny body would fit in the center of perfectly
Im from the cold basement with hand-me-down toys where I learned to use my imagination
The picture window where we used to put up halloween stickers seems to have shrunk
Im from the plastic toddler sized horse where I taught myself how to braid hair
Im from a cold white bunk bed in a hot pink bedroom that taught me not to put my fragile fingers in tiny holes i wont be able to get them out of
Im from a lime green bathroom with giant colorful flowers on the shower curtain and purple stick on earrings all over the countertops
Im from a messy kitchen where id eat bologna and sour cream straight out of the fridge
Im from the cozy brown garage where id slip on my dads giant boots
-and run around in a little green tankini with fish on it
Im from annual christmas nights in primrose at grandma and grandpas house
Im from a cold hallow church where my cousins ran around after great grandpas funeral
Im from a town thats never cottled me but people who have always cared
Im from multiple houses and parents that worked to make them homes
Im from the country of Petersburg where I played with my dogs
And the tiny town of Weston NE where I said my final goodbyes to the best dog and friend yet
I’m from the cement steps of the brick house where id sit and pick at the red buds on my mothers bush until they bled and stained my fingers bright orange
I’m from a world that showed me how to be accepting of others because of how others wouldn't Im from a queen sized bed with a teal comforter where I talked to a boy who taught me what love was
Im from a single mother who instilled me with a work ethic and my love for Jesus Christ
Who taught me love, empathy, and confidence
Im from a father who taught me pride and perseverance, offers us constant support, and pushes us to be our best
Im from a grandfather with endless amounts of courage, strength, and stubbornness
Im from a grandmother packed with encouragement, bright smiles, and a heart full of pure love
I’m from a sister whos constantly instilling me with pride, teaching me how to follow God, and being a role model in our day to day lives
Im from a family where structured morals,strength, and hard work are valued
Im from old friends who’ve taught me how to let go of the past and live happily in the present
Im from a school of teachers who made me feel valued and important, who made me feel like my thoughts were nothing less than relevant
But most of all I come from myself. I taught me how to stay positive through the hardships, have the courage to laugh when others aren't, stand strong in my beliefs, and to love my own body as it has always loved me, cared for me, and housed the soul that has the potential to touch others the way they have touched mine
-olive
Being born in a generation who was not alive to experience the tragedies of 9/11, I will never truly understand the emotional heartbreak the citizens of America endured. This first act of international terrorism in the United States will never be forgotten. Not only did it lead to the United States banding together for some time, but it also led to our troops in Afghanistan. Going into Afghanistan, we had the mission of getting justice for what was stolen from us. Once that justice was served, not only involving Afghanistan but Pakistan as well, the U.S. tactics were messy. From my understanding, looking back on the past events, we had no clear follow-through plan. We came in, we did what our country was seeking to do, but overall our stay was poorly thought through long-term. The longer we stayed the harder it was for us to formulate a national plan of what we were doing there. In consequence, our soldiers sacrificed being away from their families, friends, and homeland; on top of putting themselves in danger every day. As a country, we did protect many people and the values we believe in. But, now in the future, what did this cost us? It cost us the lives of American citizens and American soldiers. Many of those who served our country now are facing the difficulties of PTSD, trauma, and physical pain. We did a great service protecting the lives of innocent people in Afghanistan. But, do our moral deeds justify the lives we are putting at risk to this day?. Our exit strategy was not effective. A few years ago, politicians put hopes of ending this war in the heads of Americans. We were led to believe that exiting would be fast and with minimal repercussions. Administrations later, this dream was passed on and on, and now our exit is not what we had dreamed of. Again, I have no place to put blame on a single person or administration. This idea of pulling out our troops is not new. It is the product of multiple generations, people, and beliefs. My hope is that we can learn from the past and make different choices in the future. Looking back, if I were in the difficult position of retracting our troops, I would ensure I had made a plan with many back-ups and insurances. First, I would have acted slowly. Each step would have been done meticulously and with care. It would be best to take our time and get every American home safely. I would have gradually fazed out the retraction of our troops. Airports would be heavily guarded in addition to embassies and military bases. United States citizens would be privately and quietly extracted, long before any major military tactics were used. Bombs and other extreme-force weapons would be on stand-by from the get-go and made aware of to the Taliban. I would like to believe I wouldn’t have underestimated the Taliban as much as we have, but alas, I truly do not know what I would have thought in that position. All I know is that it is essential to be prepared for anything when lives are at stake. The most crucial part of my plan would be to have thoroughly decommissioned U.S. weaponry before leaving it behind. As a country, we have done this in the past. By doing so, we prevent the misuse of our lethal weapons that could be used to attack our liberty. Speaking of liberty, I would call upon our allies to ask for assistance transitioning our troops out of Afghanistan. I believe additional military assistance, to help transition peace, would have been beneficial to us as well as the Afghani natives. Once we have left the country, the continuation of monitoring the Taliban and other affiliated groups using ground surveillance would be essential. Looking in hindsight, it is always easier to point out mistakes or alternate paths. The truth is, there were a lot of things that possibly could have been done differently throughout our time in Afghanistan, regardless of administration. There is no single individual to blame. In the future, we can reflect on our past experiences in Afghanistan. The sorrow from the 9/11 attack is rooted deep down in the pride and soul of each American citizen. A piece of our national soul broke that tragic day and will never be the same. But we can and will repair ourselves, to be better and stronger together as a country. God bless America, and God bless our troops.
|
1. The beautiful fall colors
2. Leaves falling from trees
3. Watching kids jump in huge piles of leaves
4. Fall clothes - sweaters, scarves, boots, etc.
5. Fall scented candles
6. Fall food and drinks - soup, pumpkin and apple pie, pumpkin spice drinks, etc.
7. Cool weather
8. Going to pumpkin patches
9. Fall decorations
10. Halloween and Thanksgiving
- M
I shoot out of bed, wincing as gut-wrenching pain radiates through my side. A wave of panic rushes over me, as I look around my unlit bedroom. As my eyes slowly adjust to the darkness, I notice a pair of eyes peering at me with curiosity. Each of its eyes honed a different color, it's left being an uninviting slate blue and the right being an incandescent golden yellow. My mind races as I continue to gaze into the mismatched-colored eyes. I’ve seen them before. The realization hits me as I feel myself involuntarily muttering her name. “..Illa..?” She grinned at me, her boney face becoming visible. Illa scoots closer, her face becoming uncomfortably close to mine. She closes her eyes before giggling bittersweetly. “So you haven’t completely forgotten about me!” she shrills, opening her unalike eyes once again. I watch tentatively as her golden eye fades into a soft, pastel yellow.
My body tenses as I shift my gaze to the floor. “Why are you here?” I ask, “How are you here?” Illa frowns, hopping solemnly off of my bed. “Nice to see you too.” She mumbles in a mocking tone. The moonlight from the window glimmers onto her as I refocus my attention. Woah. She has gotten so much skinner since I’ve last seen her. Her body looks deprived of flesh, seeming as if she was made entirely of bone. Her ribcage is disgustingly visible, it looks like they could tear right through her side at any moment. Her arms and legs have the build of twigs, her waist is just as small as her limbs.
There is no way any normal human could look like this and still be breathing. It makes sense since Illa is far from human. Well, she’s part human in a way... It’s a long story. If you haven’t noticed already, ‘Illa' ' is “Alli' ' backward, this is because she’s a part of me. Illa is a representation of many things, but she primarily characterizes my mental illnesses and overall not-so-good traits. A doppelganger of some sort is how I would explain it. She typically lives in the hippocampus, which is the part of the brain that regulates emotions and memories, that is where she is supposed to be anyways. But sometimes she can appear outside of my mind, which, unfortunately, is completely out of my control. Besides the body type, Illa and I are almost exactly the same. We’re the same height, have the same hairstyle, and have the same voice.
But we do have our differences as well. For example, Illa’s hair lacks all colors, resulting in it being pitch black, so we can never have the same hair color unless I dye my hair black. We also have vastly different clothing styles, my outfits usually consist of hoodies and sweatpants, while Illa always wears a plain a-lined dress. And the most noticeable difference is our fingernails, I wouldn’t even call Illa’s nails fingernails, they have more of a resemblance to claws. But it’s not like she can accidentally scratch herself with them because if Illa tries inflicting pain on herself, it will automatically transfer to me. Sometimes she'll hurt me by accident, such as tripping. But other times it’ll be on purpose, like the time she looked at me dead in the eyes before slamming her arm forcefully in a kitchen drawer. Our last difference is our eye colors, Illa seemingly has normal eyes besides her yellow one. Her right eye is normally a mustard yellowish color but it changes based on her mood. The eye turns into a pastel yellow when she is happy or excited, neon yellow when she is startled or nervous, dark yellow when she is angry or sad and her eyes turn pitch black when she becomes unstable.
“Hey!” I jump as Illa snaps her scrawny fingers in front of my face. “Are you going to help me or not?” she snaps. “Help you with ….what..?” I ask anxiously, looking back at the floor. “I kinda zoned out..” Illa stomps her foot irritatedly on the floor, groaning. “You’re such an idiot,” she scoffs. “Well..’ she speaks, her tone softening. She starts fidgeting with the side of her dress. I notice a hole torn in it, so that’s where the pain came from. “Dissonance kinda got out again..” she trails off, continuing to mess with the torn fabric. I fling out of bed. “What!?” I shout. “Do you know how much danger you’re in?! Do you know how much danger we’re in!?” Illa balls up her fists, her right eye darkening. “Of course I do!” she growls. “Why else would I be asking for your help?” I sigh, trying to calm myself down. “Right..”
I forgot to mention Dissonance. They live in the amygdala, the part of the brain that triggers an emotional response, mostly in fear and anger. Just like Illa, they are a representation. They represent parts of my family. Dissonance is a monster-like creature, around 9 feet tall, has eight arms and legs, three mouths, and an uncountable amount of eyeballs. They also have two sets of wings that look like they once belonged to an angel. Unlike Illa, they don’t have skin or hair and are not human-like, they are made of some sort of a slimy dark blue substance that always has a strong stench of cigarettes. They only talk in growls and screams, and their voices are all my family member’s voices layered together. It is a very disturbing sight. Like Illa however, they do have an opposite named Harmony. Harmony lives in the part of the brain called the frontal lobe, which controls motor function and memory. Harmony represents the good parts of my family. Like Illa, Harmony looks pretty human-like, despite being 9 feet tall. They have crystal clear hair that falls to their shoulders and they are constantly meditating. But unlike Illa, Harmony is mute and can only talk through sign language. Fortunately, Dissonance and Harmony can never enter the real world, but they can escape their homes and invade other parts of the brain. When this happens it is extremely dangerous.
“Are you gonna help me or not!?” Illa yells, breaking me out of my thoughts once again. I pause. “How do I know you’re not lying about this..?” I stare deep into her unique eyes. This wouldn’t be the first time Illa has lied about something like this. When she escapes from my head she always asks or tries to get me to come into her world. When Ila is in the real world, her world leaves my head and becomes sorta like a different dimension that only Illa and I can enter. It appears as a hole that is located in the bathroom under the rug. I’ve only been in Illa’s world twice, both the times were a result of her lying. I don’t break eye contact with her as I wait for a response. Her yellow eye darkens once more as she looks at me with a hurt expression. “I can’t believe you don’t trust me..” she sniffles. “After all we’ve been through... I’m not lying, Alli, I promise I’m not..” I slowly back away, making my way towards my dresser and to the translucent orange bottle perched upon it.
Illa stares at me for a second, carefully examining my movements before charging at me at full speed. “No! Don’t!” she screams, her voice quivering with panic. Sludge-filled tears begin to fill her blue and yellow eyes. “You can’t take those! Please! I don’t wanna disappear again, you have no idea what it’s like!” She attempts to snatch the bottle with her trembling hands. I look at the bottle of gray pills in grasp and then to Illa, who’s whimpering pathetically. I exhale, slowly placing the bottle back to its original position. She smiles and without warning, wraps her thin arms around me. I feel her claws dig into my back. I awkwardly hug back, very much wanting this interaction to end. After an almost unbearable amount of seconds, Illa finally lets go. She grabs my hand, leading me out of my bedroom and into the bathroom.
Illa lifts the rug from the tile floor, revealing a dark, mysterious trench. She puts her hand on my shoulder, giving me a reassuring smile. “We’ll be okay.” I hesitantly return the smile before speaking. “I need to get something from my room first, I’ll be right back.” I speedily run back into my bedroom, locating the item before shoving it into the pocket of my hoodie. Illa grabs my hand once again. “Ready?” she asks. I nod. “Ready.” I shut my eyes as we jump, the ice-cold wind viciously stinging my face as we fall. After what seems like forever, we finally reach the ground. Illa lands straight onto her feet, while I fall ungracefully onto my face. Illa roughly grabs the back of my hair, pulling me up. “Ow,” I whine, but she shushes me. I look around the desolate landscape, shivering as a gust of wind brushes past me. Illa’s world is a mirrored version of Earth.
Both of our homes have the same layout except everything is flipped and there is no such thing as light. The hole we fell out of is in the ceiling of Illa’s bathroom, unlike the one in my house which was located on the floor. Illa starts walking, motioning me to follow her. We walk out of the bathroom, through the hallway, through the kitchen, and into the laundry room. We reached our destination, we both looked at the door in front of us. “Dissonance is in the basement?” I whisper. She doesn't answer and reaches for the doorknob, slowly turning it. The door creaks as it opens, revealing the shadowy basement. I hold my breath as Illa begins to walk down the stairs, I reluctantly follow. When we reach the bottom of the stairs, everything is quiet. I try to look around, squinting in the shadowiness. “Are you sure they’re here?” I ask. No answer. “Illa?” I ask out loud, frantically looking around. “Illa?!” I feel myself start to panic as something reaches for my leg. It pulls me down causing me to crash to the ground. I thrash around, trying to kick whatever was holding me captive. “Ow! Quit it!”
A bright light shines in my face, causing me to shield my eyes from the sudden brightness. “It’s just me, weirdo.” I uncover my eyes, relieved to see the familiar skinny face. “I found a flashlight on the ground,” Illa explains, showcasing her newly found treasure. I let out a sigh of relief as Illa holds out her hand, gesturing me to grab it. I smile at her as she helps me to my feet, but my feeling of happiness doesn't last long as I feel the item fall out of my pocket. It lands with a small “clink” noise as it collides with the cold cement floor. I let go of Illa’s hand, immediately trying to retrieve the item but Illa gets to it first. She picks it up, inspecting it with her flashlight. She stares at me with pathetic eyes, the pill bottle in her grasp. She lets out a high, deranged laugh.
Once her laughing ceases, she turns to me with a cold expression. Her yellow eye had gotten so dark it had turned black. Illa steps closer, shoving the pill bottle in my face. “You said you trusted me,” she says, stepping closer, her voice trembling. Her voice turns into a shriek. “Do you not trust me?!” Illa continues to scream, her voice echoing around the frozen basement. I can’t decipher what she says as millions of other voices spin around me, suffocating me. My head throbs as I try to look at my doppelganger. Her right eye gets even darker as she stomps her foot directly onto my stomach. Everything becomes a blur, an intense ringing lingers in my ears. Despite it being unbearable freezing, I begin to sweat. I feel myself passing out as she places her other foot onto my forehead, slowly applying pressure. “I trust you… I trust you..’ I hear myself say and then suddenly everything stops.
Illa stares at me, a wide smile stretching across her face. I feel her boney fingers wrap around my wrist. She moves closer, putting her face directly in front of mine, void of emotion. “Never trust what you fear.” Sharp pain plummets through my wrist as Illa effortlessly slices open the skin with her nails. I fall back, applying pressure to my newly wounded wrist. Once I look up I see that Illa is already halfway up the stairs. With my adrenaline pumping, I forget about the pain and run after her, making it upstairs and into the bathroom. I try to catch my breath, looking around for the black-haired girl. I then remember the hole, I look up and freeze.
Illa looks at me from inside the ceiling, her face practically glowing with twisted glee. I watch in horror as her face slowly morphs into mine, her dress being replaced with a baggy sweatshirt. I reach for her, the bones in my arm becoming hellishly visible. Feeling extremely weak, I reach again, desperately trying to reach the opening. The hole keeps shrinking and shrinking and everything gets foggier and foggier as the cavern suddenly closes, leaving me imprisoned in the darkness. The last thing I see is Illa’s bright yellow eye transforming into my blue ones. I fall on my knees, shoving my scrawny claw-like hands into my black hair. I feel the dress blow slightly from the wind. I’m trapped. I’ve lost. Illa had won.
-Allitini
