Yellow
“Clare, Clare,” a vague voice blurred in the background.
The name sounded familiar. My eyes fogged, my heart buzzing. Breathing hurt. It hurt.
I wailed, drenched and lost.
“Run! RUN! RUN!”
With heavy, stiff legs, I ran, ran, ran.
I was in a dusty room, and she caught me by the wrist. She dragged me, and I did not know where I was going. All I knew was that I was moving, and everything felt like it was distorted, loud, and unclear.
“The name is Loretta. Eralc wants you. She’s after you. We need to hide.” She then handed me this bitter, piss-yellow drink. I glanced at it, and before I could rationally think to do it or not, I felt her presence. I saw her deep, dark silhouette increase.
“Drink the damn—ugh!” Loretta held my chin up and gagged my throat with liquid.
Soft, limbless, fluid, malleable—that’s how I felt as I dropped from my mind and into my body, onto the floor, and deeper and deeper into the clouds. Before I knew it, I was falling through the sky, passing through the comfort of duvet-like clouds, and onto the ground I smashed. My head was hurting like hell, and time had gone. I didn’t know how long, but I knew it had gone.
And there she was, standing over me and covering the sun. I was shielded by her shadow.
“Get up,” she demanded.
I complied—not because I wanted to follow her, but because I didn’t know where else to go. In a world where everything was blurred, you take clarity even when it doesn’t make any sense.
“Where are we?” I asked shyly.
“The Zone. We are in the Zone. Even though she is inside, we are safe here. It’s harder for her to defeat you if we stick together, so don’t worry. I’ll keep you safe.”
There was something about her saying that that made me never want to leave or question anything.
“BUT THERE ARE SOME RULES YOU MUST FOLLOW:
ALWAYS HAVE YOUR LIQUID WHEN YOU STEP OUTSIDE JUST IN CASE ERALC STRIKES AGAIN. DRINK IT WITHOUT QUESTION AND WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT.
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCE SHALL YOU EVER LEAVE MY SIDE. IT’S NOT SAFE, AND YOU ARE NOT READY TO FIGHT ON YOUR OWN.”
There and then, I made a promise to follow her wherever she goes and do whatever she does, because she knows—even though I do not know what she knows. I know she took me when I was scared and brought me somewhere I feel safe.
“Listen, don’t think too much. We will go out in a bit. Just wait for the moon to rise, and we will be out in the neon-and-green sky. Just follow me. Take a nap.”
She pulled out a mattress and laid me down. The pillow felt just like the clouds—so comfortable, so soft, disarming, and yet airy enough to fall through.
Her eyes pierced through me and gazed into my soul. I prayed she couldn’t feel my heartbeat from my hands. Glazed by the tint of the sun through the window, she bent and whispered, “It’s okay, I’ll wake you when the time is right.”
Those words, like a spell, rested me instantly.
The sun was not scorching anymore. The rain was oh-so-slightly splashing in the background. My eyelids felt heavy. Neon. Everything is neon. She felt like liquid. The air smelled like the aftereffects of smelling salts, mint, and your favorite hot lemon solution.
She came dressed in a cheekily transparent, velvet-purple, lightweight swooshing dress. The wind swayed her hair like a ’90s hairline commercial shot under the seductive midnight sky.
She never said a word; she just moved, and I hastily got off the mattress and followed her across the corridor. I chased her like kids playing tag in the playground. She turned left, so I turned left. She ran up the stairs, and I followed. I ran after her, no questions asked. The higher we got, the more my legs wanted to give in. My heart and my mind were invested to keep up the pace. We reached the top floor, and she turned and walked backward. I walked forward, because she was close to the ledge and I was closer. I ran.
“Loretta, get back here! Loretta! Loretta!”
She snarkily smiled.
“Listen, if you do this, I’ll leave! I’ll go!” I don’t know why I said that. Maybe I thought if she thought I wouldn’t save her, she’d come closer so both would not be hurt.
She smiled again before turning and jumping off. Somehow, with the speed of teleportation, I grabbed her. She laughed so loud as I pulled her up. She then stood up, and I stood up. I backed away; she took a step forward, and I ran. She was chasing me now. I could hear her hunger. She laughed like a wolf, foamed, and ran.
As I was running down the steps, she stood at the top, and I slipped. Fell.
My vision blurred. I looked up, bloody, with a black liquid discharging from my head wound. Loretta somehow jumped every single step and stood over me, her eyes ravenous and teeth sharp. She whispered, “I won’t bite. I’ll swallow you whole.”
