Chapter Text
You've got my body, flesh, and bone
The sky above, the earth below
Raise me up again
Take me past the edge
I want to see the other side
Won't you show me what it's like?
You are walking down the street with one hand in your pocket and the other one holding the backpack, while the gentle breeze caress your face.
You let out a sigh, midterms are closer than you expect and you don't even feel ready for them.
People around seem normal, stopping at traffic lights, someone shouts from their car because the driver in front of them stopped too early and some dogs are barking at each other.
You can barely hear the noise because the music in your headphones is too loud.
Oh, and my love
Did I mistake you for a sign from God?
Or are you really here to cast me off?
Or maybe just to turn me on
'Cause these days
I would be lying if I told you that I didn't wish that I could be your man
Or maybe make a good girl bad
I've got a river running right into you
You start tapping your feet on the ground, the green light at that stop always takes a lot to shine and you roll your eyes.
This day just started and already seems like lasting forever, it also looks like people around are moving slower and the noise becomes more and more muffled as seconds pass.
I've got a blood trail, red in the blue
Something you say or something
you do
The taste of the divine
You've got my body, flesh,
and bone
The sky above, the earth below
Nothing to say and nowhere to go
A taste of the divine
Something feels weird, you can't name it but the air feels heavier, you can't distinguish between noises and take off your headphones.
Screams, people start running in every direction and you decide to follow your instinct and run away from God knows what, with most of the people around you.
You take the first right and hide behind a corner, after peeking out, trying to understand what is causing panic and incidents; you distinctly recognise the sounds of cars crashing together, shots and more screams.
More and louder noises arise, your breathing is unsteady and your legs feel weak. It's not wise to hide by yourself, alone, behind a corner where no one can find you.
And if anybody finds you, they'd be sure no one else will.
You panic, trying to summon the courage to start running again but fear glued your feet in that spot, while the noises, crashes and also explosions keep going on in the background.
You also start to think maybe it's safer there, maybe it was for the best to wait until a more peaceful moment to come out.
While your hands are still violently shaking, you grab your phone and call the police.
While the beeping sound keeps you attending, you realise you don't know what to report. A car accident? A terroristic attempt? A mass murder?
You try to slow down your breathing, keeping your phone to your ear, checking around and behind the corner.
"What's your emergency?" Someone finally answered.
"I-I..." you stuttered "there's people running down, ehm" you look up and read out loud the street name "I hear gunshots and cars speeding and crashing..." you say panting.
You hear another beeping sound.
"Hello? Hello!" You yell.
They hang up.
"FUCK—" you shout and start running again, praying you find your family at home.
Someone pushes you to the side, making you fall in the middle of the road.
You look up and see there are actual monsters, mutants, alien-like figures yelling like they are in pain; you stand up and yell too while normal-looking people on the pavement are crying ink or licking blood from the cement.
The sky is grey because of smoke raising from afar, the sun is covered by black clouds, whether you look around you find children crying and hugging their parents or people attacking randomly each other.
It takes you more than two hours but eventually you step feet in your house.
"MUM" you tell crying "mum, please!" You sigh.
You hear your mother's voice calling frightened your name, she rush towards you and hugs you like it's the last time "where have you been?" She asks in panic.
"I was going to the library to meet my study group" you cry holding her like you fear she could slip away "and I don't know. I don't know!" You hide your face between your mother's shoulder and neck "where's dad?" You say panting.
She cries harder "he went to work" she caresses your head "I called him but he's not answering"
"I called the police but they hung up" you add highlighting the gravity of the situation.
The noises outside don't stop, people are crushing windows and breaking in, stealing from your neighbours and punching everyone on their path.
You also can see children evading from school chasing grown adults with knives-shaped hands and snake-hair like Medusa's.
"I'm gonna throw up" you manage to say before actually puking your soul, while your mother tries to hold your forehead.
She pants but still drags you into the closet.
Hours pass and you both hear the entrance's door open and footsteps right outside the closet.
Your father's voice calls you both and you open the door, you hug your father tightly and beg him not to leave again -even if that morning he only left to go to work.
"What happening" your voice is raspy, you are dehydrated and your stomach is empty but don't feel the symptoms of hunger yet.
"Just... pack a bag and get in the car" he sounds angry but nothing seems normal anymore.
In an hour you are in the car, you are sitting behind just like you did when you were a child and you can clearly see the destruction outside.
The streets are emptier than that morning but there are still people roaming around, crushing windows and stealing everything in sight.
"Where are we going?" Your voice trembles and your entire body shakes with it.
"At your grandparents' house" he mutters without blinking, like the second it takes to close his eyes could cost him his life "stay down, lower your head" he mutters slightly turning his head to you without stopping to look at the road.
Your grandparents passed away, your father inherited their house but after their death you didn't visit that place again.
It is a humid, Spartan styled old house surrounded by trees and silence.
It takes a couple of hours to get there and the path engraved in the grass by the car is not very visible unless you were looking for it. It can also look like animals stepped frequently there, and it was an half truth because there were a lot of wild boars and foxes around.
You loved that place, but the memories you left there hold you back from going back. You want to cherish their memory, by leaving your grandparents some space.
Walking in that house feels like haunting a spirit's realm, instead of the opposite.
"Dad..." you mutter "what going on?" you shake your head while your mother grabs your hand.
"I have no idea" he confesses and forces you to settle down, he fixes the tv but every channel is 'handling a temporary issue'.
After a couple of days, surviving out of tuna cans and beans, the tv starts again.
The atmosphere is heavy and you and your parents barely talk.
"Some people developed mutations, others superpowers. Religious figures talk about the judgment day, cults are..." it interrupts because the signal is poor in the middle of the forest "...police and intelligence are working to keep... countries are united against... curses... crises... foods and water supplements can be found..."
Your father throws the remote against a wall "bullshit, I cannot even watch the news. It's bullshit, I'm going back to work tomorrow morning" he yells.
"I knew I married a stupid man, but I wasn't expecting you to be a total moron!" Your mother yells "there are aliens walking around like they always did, AND YOU SAW IT, and you want to go back to work?" She stands up "grow a pair and help me think about a solution!"
"You want to kill the aliens, woman?" He replies sarcastically "please, be my guest! Do you want to steal a rifle and..."
"Can you stop fighting? At least when the world is ending?" You cry out loud "I rather take the midterms AND FAIL this very second instead of listening to you both, fighting like teenagers!" You shout random and meaningless words and you can feel your cheeks turning red.
"You are grounded!" They yell simultaneously.
"Fucking great? What are you gonna do? Feed me to the mutants?" You shrug.
"She's just like you!" Your mother points at you while talking to your father.
"She has your character!" He replies.
"Shit..." you actually go to 'the guest room', that is now yours, while your parents are staying in your grandparents former bedroom.
"Superpowers?" You mutter while thinking about the little words you catches from the news "do I have them?"
You take all of your clothes off and throw them onto the ground and check every inch of your body, looking for clues or any sigh.
Maybe not everybody has one.
Maybe only the 'mutants'.
No, you saw it with your own eyes.
Normal-looking people crying ink and licking blood.
You breathe and notice you were sweating much more than the usual but you blame the moment, the tension and the anxiety.
You hate when you leave a sweat stain under your armpits but that sweat is unusual.
Sweating from the very palm of your hands, between your fingers, under your fingernails.
The air is still chill, spring is just beginning so it's not normal to sweat from your hands.
Some little sparkles tinkle your skin just above the wrist.