2 One
My breaths come out in foggy, white wisps as I run further into the woods. The cold, unyielding ground is hard beneath my bruised bare feet. I knew the soles of my feet must be bleeding by now, but I couldn't stop. Not yet. Dodging branches, I keep going. I'm not even sure where I am anymore.
I have to keep running, it will get me if I don't.
But what is it?
I can't remember.
I have to keep running.
I can't let it catch me.
I have to keep running.
My chest feels like it is caving in.
I have to keep running.
All of my muscles are screaming in pain.
I have to keep running.
These trees seem endless.
I have to keep running.
I can hear a distant voice.
Who is that?
It sounds painfully familiar and causes me to falter for a moment.
I have to keep running.
"MEREDITH!"
"M-mom?" I stop abruptly.
That was my mother's voice. No! My mother couldn't be out here, not with that thing on the loose.
"MEREDITH!" I hear again.
"No, mom! Run! Get out!" I scream, or I try to scream. Nothing comes out.
My voice, where is my goddamn voice?
I grasp at my throat, something warm and sticky covers my hands. In shock, I jerk my hands away from my throat and stare at them in disbelief.
Blood? What the-
Shakily placing my hands back around my throat I feel the gash now. There is a geyser of blood rushing out. I try to take a breath, but I can't. I'm suffocating. The blood is gushing out faster now, covering my whole body.
What is happening?!
I try again to scream, still, nothing comes out.
I try and try and try.
Still, nothing.
What is going on?!
My surroundings are starting to dim, starting to go black.
"MEREDITH! MEREDITH! MEREDITH!"
Mom...
Suddenly I jerk awake and I'm in my bed.
What a vivid dream, a horribly vivid dream, I think to myself before shoving my face back down into my pillow.
"MEREDITH KIARA JORDEN! YOU NEED TO GET UP!!" I hear my mom yell, clearly annoyed, from the doorway of my bedroom as my alarm clock goes blares on my bedside table, "YOU'RE GOING TO BE LATE FOR THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!" The screeching of my mom's voice fused with the noise from my alarm clock was enough to wake the dead, but I had barely noticed it.
Was my alarm going off when I woke up?
Reaching over, I hit the 'off' button on my blaring alarm clock. "UGH! I'm getting up!" I reply in a semi-loud, groggy voice. The foggy haze of sleep still danced in my vision and I could feel the remnants of drool drying on my cheek; my body covered in a cold sweat.
Gross.
Slowly, I manage to get out of bed and drag myself to my closet to pick out the perfect first day of school outfit.
"Hmm, should I wear jeans, jeans or jeans? I think maybe I'll go with jeans," You can never go wrong with a good pair of jeans, they're pretty much all I wear. Grabbing a pair of well-worn jeans and a soft white blouse with bright yellow sunflowers on it, I head to the bathroom to get ready.
"Oh my god," I groan as I look at my reflection in the mirror. My hair was a wild mess of blonde curls. I was really hoping for a good hair day today, it's the first day of my junior year in high school.
"Maybe you shouldn't have gone to bed with wet hair then, dummy," I scold myself.
I wet my hands and run my fingers through my hair, trying to make it a little more presentable. After working with it for a few minutes I realize that clearly isn't going to happen. I grab a hair tie and throw my hair on my head in a bun, using bobby pins to secure any loose pieces.
"I've got to go, got to go, got to go," I remind myself in a singsong voice.
I run to my room and grab my bag, phone and keys before heading towards the front door.
"Bye, y'all! I'm heading out!" I shout through the house before I step out onto the front porch.
I hear no response.
Typical.
There isn't too much communication in my household. Mostly yelling when I wake up late or stay out past curfew. As long as I go to school every day and I'm back in the house before nightfall, my parents couldn't care less about anything else; any other form of communication, any bonding. Honestly, I've grown to like it this way.
My mother, Kady, has always been a little distant, mostly keeping to herself. She hasn't ever really been the motherly type, but at least she took care of us.
My stepdad, Clay, well, I like it better when I can just act like he doesn't exist. He's a stocky, pot-bellied man with a short temper.
My older sister, Alicia, and I used to be close. The kind of close that fades in and out through the years. Since I started high school two years ago, we have drifted apart immensely. Her being away at college through the week hasn't really helped us with rekindling our close sisterly bond. We never have the spare time to hang out.
The mid-August sun was still low in the sky, but it was shining brightly. Warmth engulfed my body as soon as I stepped out of the house. It's probably going to be stifling hot this afternoon, it's almost too hot now.
I open the door to my car and get hit with an absurd amount of heat.
Jesus Christ!
Sliding into the driver's seat, leather burning me through my clothes, I start the car. It sputters a few times then rumbles to life. One of these days Ole Lucile is going to give up on me, but today isn't the day.
Ole Lucile is the name my car came with when I bought it from my grandmother at the beginning of summer. I got a part-time job to earn my own money but had no way to get to and from work. Neither my mother nor Clay offered to help me out. After having my grandmother take me to work a few days in a row, she offered to let me buy her old car for cheap payments; and I did. It was more than worth it. She wasn't the prettiest car, all rusted up and paint chipping. You couldn't really ask much from a '76 Ford Cortina; I'm lucky she still runs.
I roll down the windows and turn the air on full blast. You would think that living in Georgia my whole life I would get used to this summer heat, but I'm not. I probably never will be, I don't care for the heat.
As I go to shift the car into drive, my phone rings.
'Olivia Reed' pops up on my caller i.d.
"Hey!" I answer the phone, brightly.
"Where are you, Mere? We're going to be late!" I hear my best friends voice come through my phone.
"I literally just got in the car. I'm on my way. I'll be quick."
"You better," Olivia starts, "but drive safely, please."
"I always do!" I reply, only slightly offended. I'm a good driver and I'm always safe. "I'll be there in ten."
"Okay, I'll be waiting outside. See you when you get here."
"Okay, love you. Bye!"
"Love you!" She hangs up.
Shifting Ole Lucile into drive, I head down the long gravel driveway towards the main road.
***
I get to Olivia's place in less than ten minutes, without speeding I might add. She's already waiting outside; she isn't alone. Her father waves at me while leaning against his car.
"Hey, Mr. Reed!" I yell out the window, waving at the older man.
"Morning, Meredith!" He jovially bellows back at me.
Olivia's dad was an older man, older than my parents. I've never actually asked his age, but if I had to guess, I would say he's in his late fifties or early sixties. His hair is a dark shade of gray and his skin is covered in thin wrinkles. You can't even see the wrinkles unless you're really close to him though. I've always liked Olivia's dad, he's such a kind person. Olivia is the same way. I bet her mother was too. She passed away before I ever got to meet her.
"You just going to sit here all day?" I hear Olivia ask from my passenger seat.
I inhale a deep breath as I jump at the sound of her voice, "Jesus Christ, Liv. I didn't even notice you got in the car!"
"Don't take the Lord's name in vain, Mere. You know better."
I've known Olivia since we started kindergarten, and she's always been super religious. I try not to swear or take the Lord's name in vain around her, but sometimes I don't catch myself in time. She would be so upset if she knew how often I do both.
"Sorry, Liv. You just startled me."
Olivia smiles at me and replies, "It's okay, Mere, just don't do it again. Now let's go before we're late. Being late on the first day is a bad omen for the rest of the year, ya know."
