"Seriously. I think you're the one who's joking. You think she faked this. Look at her for crying out loud."
"Wounds just don't miraculously heal themselves Olivia. This was a joke. At my expense."
Michael walked up and looked him square in the eye. "If this was a joke, I wasn't in on it. But don't you think you're being a bit crazy?" Dana got Zoe up and guided her to some metal chairs as Michael and Luke argued. "Your getting your color back already." Dana sat in the chair opposite her, and Olivia also took a seat. "So it's probably time to tell you. Every one but us has disappeared." Olivia listened to Dana explain their current predicament. Then came the denial. The disbelief, like telling someone with memory loss the same thing repeatedly, but it would never sink in. As the pair talked, Olivia studied Zoe's arms. Apart from the remnants of dried blood, there was nothing. No scars.
Zoe cried tears of joy and hugged Dana. She looked so genuinely happy to be alive, and Olivia felt a weird pang of jealousy. Why couldn't she be that excited to be alive? She would gladly give her life to someone. She fantasized that she could just give it away, offer it like a gift. Just go up to someone dying of cancer and simply say. "Here you go." And then they would be magically cured. Unfortunately, the world was not that way. It made people beg to die, but forced them to keep living. Olivia watched Luke explain to Zoe that her family have vanished, that everyone had vanished. Her mind wandered to that dark place. The place in her brain that could rationalize anything. When she was a teenager, she always stopped herself from taking an overdose by thinking of how it would hurt her family. A few years later, after being consumed by the thoughts, she could easily justify the whole thing. Not overdose, that was the least effective method, but leaving her parents. She did not give her consent to be born. They chose to have her. They naively forced her into being, to add meaning to their own lives, or whatever reasons people have. It's not all selfless like they make out. Anything any human does is inherently selfish, it's just too easy to pretend it isn't. So, now she was stuck here in this human prison, and she could do with it as she wished. As far as she was concerned, every one could keep their opinions to themselves. The voice knew what was what. The voice made her go bungee jumping to prove to herself that she was capable of jumping from a great height. Maybe that would be her next method. She remembered the feeling of plunging. Wind rushing past and her stomach doing somersaults as she screamed her way down.
"Olivia." Michael snapped her away from the voice.
"Sorry what?"
"We will get supplies while they wait in the car. You coming?"
"Why don't we stay here tonight? It has everything we need. There beds in the furniture store are all made up and good to go." She smiled at him.
***
Dana, Luke, and Zoe went to spend the night in the department store, and Olivia and Michael split off to spend the night at the other end of the mall. They stayed in the hand-crafted furniture store with a beautiful oak bed as its centrepiece. Before slipping into bed, Oliva plumped up the pillows, As she lay there, she thought about how she almost got everyone killed by leaving a candle lit but couldn't think about it for more than a few seconds before she had to push it to the back of her mind. She hated herself enough already.
All her thoughts dissipated as Michael slid into the bed. She sank into the soft pillows and the mattress hugged her body as Michael slipped one arm under her neck and the other around her waist, the sensation of his warm torso against her back. Whatever crazy shit was going on out there, in this moment, she felt safe and content. Although she wanted to finish what they had started the night before, she could barely keep her eyes open. The feeling must have been mutual as the soft sound of him snoring came from behind her.
LIFE IS BUT A DREAM
She woke up, turned over and reached for him, but the rest of the bed was empty. Olivia sighed and sat up, wondering what fresh insanity would greet her today. Bleary-eyed, she swung her legs over the edge of the bed.
"Michael?" She scanned the store to see where he was, but she was alone, sat on the bed in an empty store like a display piece. She got to her feet and headed over to the pile of clothes she had procured from various stores the day before. A whole new wardrobe for free, the end of the world as she knew it had some perks.
"Michael?" Next she wandered to the door and looked left and right down the length of the mall. No Dana, no Zoe, no Luke. Not a sound.
The fuzziness of a hang over loomed over her and she considered going back to bed but the urgent feeling of a full bladder niggled at her, like a child vying for her attention, and not stopping until it had won.
"Fuck it," she muttered, and found some brightly colored plastic waste baskets, probably intended for a child's room.
After relieving herself, she decided it was time to find the others. She plodded to the store the others were staying in, feeling strangely at home for somewhere usually so public, and in bright yellow pyjamas, with llamas on no less.
"Luke?" she announced, walking into the department store and heading for the home section. The beds were unmade, but no-one was there. "Guys. I'm getting a little freaked out now." She wondered if they were packing up the car and went straight back out the door. She picked up her pace and sped along in her new slippers. It seemed to take forever to get down the escalator and from one end of the store to another.
As she exited the mall, the light forced her to squeeze her eyes shut. Another gloriously sunny day. It was all getting a little repetitive now. As her eyes adjusted, she walked across the parking lot, trying to remember where she had parked but couldn't find her car anywhere. Stopping by every other red car, she walked the length of the parking lot to make sure she wasn't misremembering, although she was almost certain she had parked it by the tree. The car was not there.
Her mind raced to comprehend how they could just leave her there and take her rental car with them. She stared into the distance as her brain dissociated to protect her from the inevitable breakdown that was to come. Instead of freaking out, her eyes followed the rays of sunlight bouncing off the buildings. Something shifted in the corner of her eye, barely noticeable at first. She turned her head to see creeping, lingering fingers of mist stretching out. Dark blue mist, and it was coming towards her. It was coming for her.
"Olivia."
"What?" she slurred.
"I think you were having a nightmare."
"What?" Her eyes opened. It was too dark to see, but he was there.
"Michael. You're here." She held him tight.
"Uh, yeah. Where else would I be?"
The pyjamas clung to her with sweat, and she clutched her chest as her heart palpitated.
"So glad to see you." She nestled her head into his neck.
"You want the torch?"
"Yeah, I could do with a little light. What time is it anyway?"
"3.50. If my watch is right. You like it. I got it yesterday. Analogue. The battery should last for ages."
"Every one was gone."
"Every one is gone Olivia, remember."
"I mean everyone, everyone. All of you. You left me here."
"Well, if you have that dream in future, just remember this conversation. That would never happen. That would never happen, because I would never leave you."
In that second, she leaned in and kissed him. Something about the cover of darkness and her racing heart made her her need him even more. She laid her hand on his chest, lowered it to his stomach and listened to his breathing deepen. He leaned over her and laid her on her back. Part of her wanted to grab him and get on top of him, but part of her wanted to be dominated by him. She just wanted to do everything. He started kissing her neck and made his way down to her breasts as he parted her legs with his knee.
"Fuck me." She said. She could always tell when she was feeling it because she was so much more vocal.
He kissed her on the mouth again and ran his hands all over her and then holding her arms over her head with one hand and grazing her
breast with the other.
"You feel so good," he moaned, and she felt his erection pressing into her.
A shriek came from nowhere, hurtling through the peacefulness of the night like a rocket ship. Olivia jumped, banging her head against Micheal's. "What the fuck."
He got out of bed and put his t-shirt on. The screaming didn't stop. Olivia jumped out of bed and donned some pants as Michael grabbed the second torch and they bolted for the door. Everything looked foreign by torchlight as they made their way towards the source of the noise. Shadows dipped and dived in every direction as their dual torches crossed the area. The mannequins stood in shop windows, watching them walk to their fate. As they turned the corner, Michael ran into something and fell to the ground.
More screams echoed off the walls, as if coming from every direction. A dark figure hunched on the floor as Michael got his bearings.
"Zoe?" Olivia could just about make her out in the dim light.
"Are they behind me? Are they following me," she cried, her face swollen.
"Who? There's no one there." Olivia checked by shining her torch, just to be sure.
"They were both there. I don't know how they found me. I moved across the country and now they're here." She was frantic. Olivia couldn't recall seeing someone in such a state.
"Who are they?"
"I don't want to talk about it."
"You're clearly terrified. You woke us up in the middle of the night, and now we're terrified. What the hell are we dealing with here?"
"They attacked me." Her sobs were barely intelligible.
"Who?" she asked again.
"I don't know. The police never found them."
The sound of hurried footsteps made Olivia tense up. Her adrenaline pumped as she entered fight-or-flight mode. "Who's there?"
"It's just us." Luke ran up to them, glassy eyed. "What happened? We heard the screams and we couldn't find her."
"I'm not sure exactly. Not yet." Olivia had her arms around Zoe.
***
They all stuck together from then on, except for Zoe, who tried to sleep alone in the storage closet. She had asked the others to keep watch as there was only one way in and out. None of them were in the mood to sleep anyway, so they gladly kept watch.
"So what do you think happened?" asked Dana.
"Something bad," Olivia straightened out a crook in her neck.
"So you actually think there is someone here? That someone is after her?"
"I think she had a vivid nightmare. I had a nightmare earlier. It seemed so real. Or maybe PTSD flashbacks. Not sure."
"I think we need to get out of here. There is something creepy about this place." Dana kept looking behind.
"The sun will rise soon. We can leave then."
"Did you hear something?" Dana turned around again.
"No. I think we're all just paranoid and highly strung now. The sooner we get out of here the-"
Zoe screamed again.
"I'll check on her. Probably just a nightmare." Olivia got up and went to the storage room. She pressed her ear against the door, and the noise had stopped. She announced herself before entering and slowly turned the door handle. It was quiet now and pitch black, so she put out her arms to feel her way around. "Zoe, are you all right in here?" As she stepped further into the room, a hand clamped over her mouth, and before she could scream or struggle, she was pushed to the ground. Gasping in shock, the back of her head thudded against the hard floor. Something made of fabric was shoved in her mouth to muffle her screams. She tried to get up and felt a suffocating weight on top of her.
"Shut up, bitch." An unfamiliar male voice rasped by her ear. "You just stay quiet now, okay? Then you might make it out of this." Something cold touched her face. As It moved down the side of her face and then to her neck, she realised it was the cool steel of a blade. It pressed into her flesh with just enough pressure to hurt, but not enough to break the skin. She froze, desperate not to anger this person. She could hear the instability in his voice, like he could snap at any minute. She lay there and could hear the blood pumping around her veins as silent tears streamed down her face.
Small whimpers came from the bed, and her heart broke for Zoe. How did they even get in here? Olivia flinched as the stranger shoved his hand between her legs. Oh god. She started to struggle again, trying to get up, but he pinned her against the floor. The gag stopped her from being able to get enough oxygen and her nostrils flared, trying to compensate. A sickness knotted in the pit of her stomach, and she tried to scream again. As the stranger tried to pull her jeans down, he took his weight off of her legs and she took this opportunity to kick out. In the blackness she had no idea where she was kicking, but she heard a low grunt and the sharp sound of metal hitting tile. She had to believe he dropped his knife. She had to win, and couldn't accept it any other way. She kicked out again, and her foot hit something else with a cracking sound. As his hand no longer covered her mouth, she spat out her gag and called out Zoe's name. It was still too dark to see a thing until light suddenly flooded the room. Olivia blinked and brought her hand up in front of her eyes.
"Zoe, Olivia. What the fuck?"
Olivia knelt up and tried to focus. As the beam of light moved across the room, she could make out shapes and as she focused, she could see Zoe curled in the corner between two boxes, trembling wildly. Luke stood at the door. No one else was in the room.
"Olivia." Michael rushed past Luke to get to her. "Why are you on the floor? Did you pass out or something?"
"Where are they?"
"Who?"
"They were here."
"Who was here?"
"You believe me now." Zoe stuttered.
"Zoe, there is no one here. There is no one here except you two. Anything else is impossible." Luke proclaimed.
"Well, so is people vanishing and magically healing wounds," said Olivia.
"Maybe he's right." Michael sat down on the floor and took her hand. "There will be some explanation for this. It could be something we haven't even thought of yet. What if everyone evacuated because of some virus that makes you hallucinate?" His hands flailed about as he explained his theories. "What if this is the result of a biological weapon? Sickness, hallucinations. That makes more sense than vanishing people, right?"
"But it was so real." Olivia could still feel him on top of her, feel his warm, damp breath and smell his overpowering cologne. "You really think they could have evacuated the whole of California in half a day while I was in the forest. Now that is crazy. And what about Zoe's arm? I’m telling you, this is so much more than we could even comprehend."
Dana stepped in the room, pointing a gun.
"Jesus Dana. Where did you get that from?" Olivia asked.
"Got it from my ex's house. It's police issue. Don't worry. He taught my how to use it. What happened in here?" She crouched down and sat with Zoe, pulling her hair out of her face and tucking it behind her ear. "All I know is that we really shouldn't leave each other's sight. At least not while we're here. It's probably getting light now, we should get out of this place."
"They'll come back. It doesn't matter where I am." Zoe said from the bed. Her voice unwavering, and firm with certainty.
Something reflected back at them in the glare of the torch. "It's still here." Olivia scrambled across the floor and grabbed the object that had slid just under one of the trolleys. She held it up, and Dana focused her torch on it.
"This is the knife they had. I knew it was real."
"Right, we need to get out of this place. Can we all be ready ASAP?"
"Could everyone excuse us for a moment? I want to speak with Zoe."
"Sure." Luke left, followed by Dana, and Michael gave her a lingering look before leaving.
"Zoe, you don't have to tell me, but I feel like it might help. Who were those people? That was pretty terrifying what happened to us then, and god knows what has happened to you in the past."
"It was so long ago now. 3 years, well almost. I
moved here from Miami. All the memories would come back to me when I was there. I couldn't escape them."
"It doesn't seem like you've escaped them here either."
"They broke me, ruined my life. I always have nightmares. I barely leave the house. Beads of tears glistened on her cheeks."
"That sounds really hard. I'm not one of these people that knows what to say in sensitive situations, so sorry I can't offer you some words of wisdom, or comfort, or whatever, but I'm here, whenever you need me. So you said you moved from Miami. Do you have any family here?"
"No, not here. I wanted to go somewhere where they couldn't find me, but I'm sick of running."
"I would be too. Listen, can I ask you something?"
"Yeah." Zoe compulsively ran a strand of hair through her fingers again and again.
"Are you happy to be alive?"
"I am. I mean, I really wanted to die when I went through with it. But then after, when I was waiting to die, it took so long, and I really started to think. I don't want these evil fucks to win. They took so much from me already. For me to die because of these wastes of space. I feel like I had a revelation as I was running through the streets. The more blood that came running out of me, the more I wanted to live, but I could feel my life slipping away by the second. I was so sure when I was healed that I wasn't going to let these two strangers ruin any more of my life. I want to live. I want a partner, a house, a career, the whole shebang. But then, what happened back there, maybe I was stupid to think I could ever be normal again.
"Don't say that. You're bloody strong. I can tell."
"Why do you ask, anyway? Don't you want to live?"
Olivia had forgotten she had even asked that and felt embarrassed suddenly. "For now, I do. When I get home though. If I go back to normal. My shitty job, and all that mundane crap. Then there's all the stuff I can't control. You know, some nights I can't sleep. I have this intense fear of ending up homeless, even though there is no way it could even happen to me. I worry about literally everything."
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