Welcome to Gaia! :: View User's Journal | Gaia Journals

A walk, a quick walk was all it was supposed to be. A chance to go outside and smell the fresh air before the heat of the summer morning made it impossible to be outside. My feet shuffled against the grey and black speckled sidewalk. I couldn’t help but take a quick glance at my watch. 5:50Am is what it flashed blue in the shadowed darkness cast over me by the tree I happened to be walking under. Looking up at the sky through the green leaves of the tree I watched the moon begin to fade, tilting my green eyes down I saw the golden light of the sun begin to peak over the horizon, only reassuring my confidence in the time my watch had given.
I breathed out in a sigh, creating a cloud in front of my lips. This comforting cold would soon fade to a burning heat that would trap me inside with my parents and my brother for the rest of the day. The air had a fresh smell to it, almost like the smell you would expect when spraying a can of frebreze.
“Might as well enjoy it while I can.” I said more to break the silence around me then anything else. I was only 13 and should have been home asleep but the outside world was far to intriguing for my young then a white bedroom with posters. The moment I stepped back inside I would be grounded for a week, but this gentle morning walk made it all worth the while.
A small breeze blew my long wavy black hair around my shoulders, causing me the shiver and think about going home before my parents woke up. Maybe I would actually get away with this walk. Taking one long look up at the sky I turned around thinking I would see the path I just walked up to get to the park. Instead I saw a man, his yellow teeth barred in a smile that somehow seemed to match his worn and tired red eyes. Dirty and matted brown hair framed his thin face as he smiled at me again. I would have been creped out in most cases but the knife that was held in front of my face gave my emotions a tilt towards fear.
“Please…. I just want to go home.” I said softly to the man, taking a step back.
“And I need to eat. Seems like we both have a problem that needs to be solved.” His voice was cracked and rough against my young ears. Even from a few feet away I could smell his rotted breath, acrid and pungent.
I didn’t know what to do. My parents had never told me what to do in a situation like this and I had never taken any kind of self defense class. My instincts began to kick in and my foot slid back on the sidewalk, tilting gently. A deep breath and my body had turned and I was flying down the sidewalk. Well that was what I had expected but instead my small body collided with another body. I felt my head being wretched upward by a hand placed on my chin. His fingers were think and rough compared to my small soft face. His face was more defined and clean then the other man’s. His eyes were a bright blue and his teeth white but his hair was just as dirty and his skin covered in scars.
“Got a runner. Give us your money or those pretty little green eyes get it.” I had no idea what he meant. All I could think was how can I get away.
“I don’t have any money….” My voice was dying from his hand around my throat but he didn’t seem to care as his grip tightened.
“Yeah Right! Mitch, give me the stuff.” I heard a rustling and then a bottle was held in front of my eyes. It was filled with a dark liquid that flowed freely. “See this!” He shouted, “One splash and goodbye world!” I would have offered him anything but I was unable to speak, his hand wrapped tightly against my vocal cords.
“No, nothing. Well then too bad for you.” He pulled off the cap to the water bottle with his teeth and sloshed the liquid with an evil grin before pouring it over my face, sending it directly into my eyes. A scream escaped my lips as the liquid began to burn my eyes, it felt like someone had lit them on fire. I could still see as he threw me to the ground, a smile on his face and a laugh rolling off his tongue.
“You should have paid us little girl.” His blue eyes were the last thing I saw as the burning increased and I slammed my eyes shut, rolling onto my side and clutching my face, avoiding touching my eyes. I could hear them walking away, laughing, I would have felt anger towards them but the pain was to much, my consciousness began to fade. All I could wonder was if I was ever going to see my parents again, my brother, my friends. The blackness engulfed me but now before I was able to look up at the sky one more time and see the moon fade completely.