First Story--Part 10

She opened the door quietly. Her mom was slumped outside, asleep and clutching an iPhone limply. Sara glanced at the glowing screen. Her mom had dialed 911, but had not pressed send. Sara crushed the screen under her heel.

Nerezza would never be limited by the police, she thought. Nerezza wasn’t even human, although she didn’t know exactly what Nerezza was or the extent of what she could do.

Sara had many questions actually. She pondered them as she showered, but solved nothing. She dressed in all black, along with a long sleeved tee to cover her scars. Ashley was a thing of the past. If Nerezza didn’t care, neither did she.

Her train of thought was cut off by pain from her foot. Sara looked down and saw that her heel was cut open where she had crushed the phone. She screamed in agony.

Nerezza never got hurt, and Sara’s pain reminded her of just how different they were.

Sara’s mom couldn’t hide her joy when she saw Sara, but said nothing. Downstairs, she saw almost 100 messages from her dad on the machine. As if he really cares, Sara thought, deleting them all.

To please Nerezza, she ate breakfast. Darryl had quit, as she discovered from a note on the counter. She crumpled it up. Her mom could figure that out by herself.

After lacing up her black Converses, Sara walked three miles to school. She remembered about her heel halfway there, but the pain had stopped.

I shall struggle through controlling myself today. Having the girl under my thumb will help greatly, but it may not be enough. The strain of last week has multiplied, and it is all I can do to not kill everything around me.

Sara stepped into the school. A few of her old followers were waiting, apparently unaware of last week’s events. They scattered when they saw her walk in, though, which she found amusing.

Not that she blamed them. She lifted the hood of her sweater over her head, pulling the strings so that it hugged her face.

She dropped her backpack in her locker, noticing all the pictures that had once featured her and Ashley now only showed her.

Sara smiled. She was glad Ashley was gone. Now it was just her and Nerezza. Nerezza was the only person who mattered anymore.

I cannot…control…must…get outside…pain…

Nerezza collapsed near the front doorway, much to Sara’s horror. She ran out of the classroom to her side. Nerezza turned to face Sara. Her eyes were completely glowing white.

“Child… help me up” Nerezza whispered. Sara helped her to her feet. Her hands were like ice.

“Outside.” Nerezza croaked. Sara slung Nerezza’s arm around her shoulders and led her outside, where Nerezza collapsed on the grass nest to the sidewalk.

“Run…far.” She said.

Sara ran aimlessly, past the school, until Nerezza was just a black smudge on a green lawn. Sara watched in shock as the green lawn turned brown and died; as shrubbery around the entrance shriveled up.

Nothing happened where the lawn met the parking lot, but trees on the lot’s other side creaked, groaned, and then fell, crushing cars and bikes. The leaves withered and the trunks turned black as they rotted.

Sara watched in awe until she looked down and saw that the deadness was spreading, and the grass around her was dying. She screamed and ran farther, until the school grounds ended and she found herself standing in the middle of a freeway.

She looked at the car an inch away from her and braced for the impact. None came. She looked again. The car wasn’t moving. As she looked around her, she realized that none of them were. The drivers sat motionless, some talking to someone else, some with their mouths open, talking on a cell phone. A dog with its head out the window had its fur blown in one direction, and its floppy tongue stuck out straight as a board.

Sara gasped as she realized that time had stopped. She ran to the side of the road to ponder, in case time started again. The grass on the side of the road was dead, and she touched it gently. Nothing happened, so she stepped on it. The dry blades crunched under her feet.

Um....I dunno, the font color change isn't working.... Nerezza says: I cannot…control…must…get outside…pain…, if you didn't figger that out.