A Devil's Halo

As GirlX dragged her feet along the streets of a busy shopping center, she couldn't help but look around at those walking close to her. Some were laughing, others were crying, & some were making inaudible noises. The sounds of cars & trains nearby didn't even seem to bother her despite the fact that on most days, she'd rather be listening to music than listening to loud traffic sounds that seemed to always bother her. She never understood why...it was odd to her, even her own family didn't understand it but, even while she was thinking it to herself, she remembered that she no longer had a family. They were gone & it was all her fault. Though she knew that blood was still staining her body from only a few hours ago, nobody seemed to care about it. Sighing, she let her eyes wander until they fell upon a small little cafe that also had a small library for people to borrow books & read while having treats there. She used to go there as a child with her family for fun nights out but, the sight of it instead caused her deep regret. As her eyes kept on wandering, they eventually fell upon the sight of an older woman, perhaps in her mid-40's smoking a cigarette. She had rough blonde hair that looked musty & gross & had dark circles under her eyes & skin full of cuts & scars.

On the top of her head was a red ring, just like the one that GirlX had. Hers read, "Expiration Date: 1/3/2023." Eyes wide open & jaw dropped, she froze in place as she walked on by. Then, out of nowhere, the woman stopped & she began to tremble & shake. Letting out an ear-piercing shriek full of pain & horror, her hands shot up to her face as she began to scratch at it. Falling onto her knees rather violently, she continued to cry out as she went on to scratch desperately at the ground. It was as if something were controlling her mind but, in an instant, the woman stopped, turned to face the sun, & vanished as her eyes rolled back, almost like a ghost. Falling to her knees herself, GirlX reached a shaky hand up to her own red ring & felt her lips tremble. Then, as she furrowed her eyebrows out of frustration, she growled out two small words, "Save...me..."