Gray

something wasn't right .

she could feel it in her chest .

she was nervous , anxious almost . . .

she went over the text in her head again and again .

it read " my escape won't be hard to clean up ."

what did that mean ?

Escape ?

what escape ? what was she running from ?

these thoughts stayed with her while she half heartedly did her job .

she impatiently waited on the last customer exactly 4

hours after she'd gotten the message .

she checked her phone for the flashing green light that signaled

a reply , but it wasn't there . .

she grabbed her keys , her coat and belted for the exit . .

the only thing louder than her boots slamming the pavement

was her heart's beating . . . getting louder by the second .

she hardly minded the patch of black ice that threw her to

the ground , she was too anxious to feel pain . she didn't even

mind the 30mph winds licking her bare flesh . . . all she wanted

was to get home to her .

the normal 6 minute drive took only seconds , it seemed . .

she burst through the front door and screamed her name

" SKY! "

all she heard back was the cruel cackle of deafening silence .

the house was completely empty a striking difference from

its normal lively , almost obnoxious , atmosphere .

she didn't know why but tears started to stream down her cheeks .

something wasn't right .

she took the 17 stairs so slowly , one by one ,

as if when she got to the top,

she'd meet her death .

But what she saw when she got to the top was worth

than the hooded figure carrying the scythe .

Her best friend's door was slightly open , music seeping through

the crack . . the song ? " Alice " by the Cocteau Twins .

With shaking hands and tears now falling freely from her eyes ,

she pushed open the door and found an extremely pale Sky , fast asleep .

She breathed a sigh of relief , but not before checking . . .

checking what ?

well , you see , her and Sky had a little game they used to play .

when they were young , they would fall asleep next to one another , sometimes

in each others arms .

oh , back to their game . well , there was a little girl in their class who lost her

mother. nobody knows how she died . they just knew she didn't wake up .

She and Sky would take turns placing their hands on each other's chest

to see if they were still breathing when sleeping .

Now , almost 13 years later , she walked , stumbled and fell . . . then crawled

to Sky's bed . With eyes too clouded with tears to see , she put her hand

on her chest and waited for her hand to rise up and down , but it didn't .

Her eyes opened wide , her voice , a shrill whisper . She touched Sky's face and it

was wet . She shook her head and laughed . No , there was no way in Hell .

This wasn't happening . . .

and then she saw it . . .

the auburn vial .

half its contents removed . . .

Skylehr Moore was the name on the label . . .

Her eyes which were normally a warm brown were now a deep black .

She couldn't walk , the weight of what she was afraid had taken place 4 hours

and 36 minutes ago was sitting on her chest , so she crawled towards the vial

and picked it up . the drugs named screamed back at her . . .

Zolpidem . For Insomnia .

and thats when they came . . .

the shrill , hoarse , piercing wails . . .

she fell to the ground . . . her insides raw and numb .

she didn't mind when the drawer's sharp edge met the back of her head

because it was then she plunged into darkness . . .

the shadows holding her like a baby . . .

the world was no longer in color . . . . it was . . .