just hangin' out {scissor sisters vs mutts}

 MARIELA PITRE

Samson isn't there when I wake up. I'm tucked under my blanket all the way up to my chin, lying on my back in an entirely unfamiliar place. The sky is clear, the moon glowing blue across the sky. I wonder for a moment if I'm dead. I can't seem to move, my eyes are heavy, my vision blurred, and no matter how much I try, I can't seem to move. My mouth feels dry, my nose is cold.

When I finally manage any sort of function it's only to call out for help. And even then it comes out as only a croak—"Hayden?"—my eyes shifting, but finding no one in my peripherals. I try more loudly, voice cracking into a soft squeak—"Cynthia?"

I wish it had all hit me more slowly. But it's more like a train, slamming into me as sleep fades from my muscles and bones. I start to groan as my wounds come to life like a flame in the cold air. I wiggle my toes within my boots, the cold making it painful. My knee, having sat still for so long within Hayden's splint, feels far better than the pair of gashes in my thigh.

I vaguely remember Hayden sewing the splits in my skin back together, but the memories are fuzzy. I swallow back pain as I force my arms back to pull me up. Bandages are wrapped around my chest, my hand screams as I put far too much weight on it when I sit up, and as I flinch, I notice Claudia has wrapped herself around my neck like a choker.

My memories blur together as I try to recall what's most recent. But no matter how hard I try, I can't quite remember how I got here. Or where here was exactly. Looking through the dark I see what looks like a thousand nooses swaying in the wind. Fear picks up in my heart again, beat, beat, beating wildly against my ribcage as the anthem begins overhead.

First I see Samson's face, hard with a cold glare just as always. I swear I can hear her hissing in my ears—it makes me look over my shoulder. And then it's the boy from my district, Q. I don't really mean to say it aloud, but my thoughts are just so close to the surface now that I've finally woken from slumber.

"Oh, no."

Quiet. Only a whisper. Lost on the breeze.

Hayden and Cynthia were both nearby, but neither was speaking to the other. I feel like I could cry, but no tears appear. It's all just a soft heartache against the raging cuts on the surface. I barely knew the boy, but to a girl who has never received an ounce of kindness her entire life? He seemed like an angel.

A soft smile twists at my lips. Something tells me Samson would disagree about the angel thing.

They don't make me take a watch. At least when I wake up the next time Cynthia is suggesting we continue to move. I want to ask for another 10 minutes of sleep, but something tells me I've already been enough of a burden on the both of them as it is. And even though Hayden is always smiling softly at me when I struggle to keep up, I know that it's becoming more of an annoyance than an asset to keep my around.

I wrap myself up in my blanket and march on, this time keeping my face buried within the blanket so that the wind only seers my eyes.

"It's so cold," I say, comment muffled by the wool. I feel myself shivering, even though the involuntary movement hurts the gashes in my skin.

Something screeches and I pull the blanket tighter around me. It was always so much easier just to hide from the bullies at school than to stand up to them. It's an instinct—my body chooses flight over fight every single time. But it seems Hayden and Cynthia are far different.

"Look out!"

And as a screech sounds I collapse to the ground with my own yelp to match the horrendous sound ripping through the dark. We are the perfect duet. Hidden beneath my blanket in a pile of fear, I fumble around for my axes, rifling through all the plants and bandages I've stowed away in my bag.

It takes only a single moment of peeking to realize I've made a mistake. I throw the axe and immediately duck back under the blanket as another screech echoes through endless night.

 MARIELA PITRE

I'm fillering because I want to see my roll first??

so yeah, this post EMPTY, YEET

 MARIELA PITRE

I'm fillering because I want to see my roll first??

so yeah, this post EMPTY, YEET