Dark clouds were at her feet as she walked barefoot on the soft soil. The inner city was dim, perhaps in yet another power outage due to terrorists, Karmi wasn't sure anymore. Destiny city looked different, though the usual gloomy vibes still fell down on the young girl. The streets were barren, stripped of every living thing and asphalt alike. Dark, soft earth took its place with a swirling mist caressing her ankles. "Hello?" she called out, her voice echoing back softly on the abandoned town. "HELLO?!" She cried a second time, continuing down the long stretch of dirt road. It was painfully apparent there would be no soul to answer her call. Shivering, she pulled her arms deeper into the pink, silken top of her pajamas. There was no moon out tonight.
The journey was a lonely one and that solitude is what was driving Karmi absolutely mad. "There has to be people." She spoke aloud to comfort herself. "The entire city can't just disappear, that's more people than there are trees in the city." Callously the mocking echo of her words wandered further down the sub-streets. What had taken place here? Crackling of the dirt beneath her feet suddenly changed to a crunching sound as Karmi moved passed the threshold laying before the park. It felt like there was a sea of cold plates under her feet as she moved down the normal path she took in her runs. "That's odd." She said, stopping to look down at the offending feelings. Her heart sank as her own visage met her eyes. "Broken mirrors?" She questioned, painfully gritting the words out from tense vocal chords. This had all kinds of bad luck written all over it. Heart fluttering wildly, she pressed on down the path, the strange dark mist moving with her.
Destiny Park had never looked so bleak, Karmi could swear peering eyes were watching her in every careful step over larger and larger chunks of separated mirrors she took. Overhead the barren trees stood silently with not even the wind to keep them company. Glancing about frantically, Karmi stopped before the bridge which had before fallen and nearly led to her drowning in the unsettled waters below. It was menacing, torn away from the other side, curled in like a claw menacing reaching out to her. She approached, touching a hand to the burning cold steel and flinching back, staring at it. "What... happened here?" A meeker voice choked out as she took a few steps back. Suddenly feeling pressed by the creaking metal she moved to the side, staring across the now barren riverbed and to the side beyond. Were her eyes deceiving her? A figure stood on the other side where the bridge had laid untouched. Darkened features stood motionless and Karmi stared them down. "Hello?" She called out. The figure remained motionless. "Excuse me, I can't get across, can you help me?" No answer, no movement. "Please, I'm just trying to get across!" Karmi was shouting now, heart racing. Why was there no answer?
Nearly inaudible, the dark figure moved its lips. "Goodbye." It said, then appeared to glide away from the bridge and into oblivion. "Wait, you're not supposed to say goodbye on a bridge!!" Karmi called, hitting the side of the mangled metal mess. "It means you won't see each other again..." She muttered, shaking her head sadly. Hanging her head low she caught the glimmer of yet another mirror shard. Growling lightly under her breath, she turned with head up traveling back down the path. "Why did I come over here in the first place?" She said with an eye roll An aching, loud and shrill squeak of metal behind her stopped her movement as she heaved a glance backwards. The "claw" mess of bridge parts trembled, closing each broken beam such as fingers in a fist. "s**t!' slipped out of Karmi's mouth as she began into a sprint. Moving behind her like a movement-seeking missile, the mangled hand tore loose of its prison, rumbling through the dirt as the outstretched points reached down for her.
Heaving in breath, the pink haired girl tore through the path, shards of the mirrors she had passed prior now becoming agitated. Several times she felt her feet buckle into sharp pains, blood gushing from the bottom of her feet. Nearly tripping she could hear the rumble of the hand behind her, Not like this! her mind screamed. With hand out she pushed herself back up, running back towards the safety of the city buildings. Screeching loudly behind her, the hand moved with each turn and tumble of the frantic Karmi. She had always wished for a better reason to start running, running for dear life had not been one of these options. Pushing herself further she steadily pulled away from the shadowing attacker, slipping underneath a barren bush and doubling back. Not idling to see her plan in action she kept her pace quick. Breaching deep into her soul it felt like she had exhausted herself over at least ten fold. At last she fell underneath the moonless sky to her knees as the whirling mist blanketed her with a frigid touch. Karmi closed her eyes tightly. "It's gone now."
Opening them once more she nearly fell backwards in confusion. There before her was where she had began, the same twisted metal sticking up curling towards her. Gasping loudly she jumped to her bleeding feet, only to fall again in the agonizing pain. No mercy. Twisting quickly the bridge fell on Karmi, grabbing her roughly and cutting deep into her flesh. "HELP!" she cried, cringing. A futile attempt as she was dragged down, deep into the riverbed, a wave of the dark fog sliding in after her. Coughing, she could feel the swirling like that of a furious ocean building above her. Karmi was drowning. "Heelllppp!" She bubbled against the mist, the pressure building around her as the metal remained steadfast in her captivity. Green discs frantically darted, seeking any friendly face, any object of adoration. They were met with the standing bridge far above her, a grinning face peering over the edge with bright shining eyes. A familiar grinning face with hauntingly bright eyes. Smooth pink hair flashed back in her own way while she could feel a liquid like grasp take hold of her throat, swirling deeper and deeper into her lungs. With hand above she could see the same green discs reflect back. "Please!" She attemped to cry, though all she heard was "Blrb!" Unfaltering the shining smile above spoke only three words. "Dead by dawn." ...Karmi could feel a sharp pain in her lungs...
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Practically screaming Karmi shot up from her covers, eyes wide. Clutching onto her good luck charm tightly, she gasped and frantically felt her sternum. Were her lungs still intact? Panting, she shook her head heavily and with a heave shoved a few DVD cases from her nearby nightstand. All she could muster was a groan as she flopped back down, staring at her ceiling with kind eyes (as she had missed reality). Swallowing to soothe her dry throat she croaked out, "No more borrowing Evil Dead movies."
She had never been that interested in old horror films anyways, even if Bruce Campbell was awesome.
