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...
I wake up with a start. Rubbing my eyes, I sit up, wondering where all this noise is coming from. Squinting into the eery blackness, I realize it's still nighttime. I turn on my phone, blinded by the bright white light I realize that it's 2:42 am.
Somewhere far off, I hear a whine and a shrill cry. Is Aayliah crying? I'm too tired for this.
[[Check on Aaliyah]]
[[Go back to sleep]]
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I kick the sheets off my legs. I slide off my bed, almost tumbling to the ground in sleepy confusion. My feet immediately feel wet, like I just stepped in a puddle. Looking at the ground, I see the subtle shine of a liquid at my feet...and all around me? "What the hell-" Suddenly, I hear a large bang. I fall over from fright and the violent vibrations under my feet from the bang.
Confused, I try to get up so I can go investigate whatever the hell that was, but in the pitch black I see a surge of water. It's coming at me, probably faster than I can run. The water has a redish tint, giving the darkness an eerie red tone. I get ready to run, but I still hear that shrill cry somewhere in the darkness.
[[Run anyway]]
[[Try to find Aaliyah]]<script>
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Eh, Mom can handle it. I pull up the covers over my head and get ready to go back to sleep. Just as I close my eyes, splash!, I've fallen into something wet. Startled, I look around and see the shiny tint of a liquid all around me. Water maybe? God I hope it's water... I get up and begin investigating my surroundings. Unfortunately, there's nothing but darkness miles in front of me. Where am I? Before I can inspect any further, I hear a loud bang! behind me. I lose balance and fall over from fright and the violent vibrations under my feet. What's going on?
Confused, I try to get up so I can go investigate whatever the hell that was, but in the pitch black I see a surge of water. It's coming at me, probably faster than I can run. The water has a redish tint, giving the darkness an eerie red tone. I get ready to run, but I still hear that shrill cry somewhere in the darkness.
[[Run anyway]]
[[Try to find Aaliyah]] My feet begin to move on their own, and before I know it, I'm running down the pitch black hallway. I never ran track in high school, and I would usually skip P.E.and draw in the bathroom--so I wasn't exactly the most "athletic" person. This fact became very clear when I started losing breath as quickly as I had started running. Shit! You're not supposed to lose breath when you're running for your life! I tried to pick up speed, which was a BIG mistake. I slip on the water under my feet and fall, hard.
Wincing in pain, I soon feel the water engulf me and I know that I'm done for.
[[Panic]] <script>
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"Aaliyah?" I whisper to myself. "Aaliyah! Aaliyah, where are you?" I begin to panic. The water is coming fast, and I can already feel the smaller waves licking my knees. Aaliyah doesn't answer, but I can still hear her muffled cries. Where are they coming from? The tidal wave is coming closer, and it starts drowning out Aaliyah's cries. What do I do? WHAT DO I DO?
Water. Water all around me and blocking all my senses. The salt burns my eyes and I frantically try to resurface. I begin to feel an iron grip around my throat as the water enters my nose and mouth. Coughing. Bubbles.
[[Panic]]
[[Drown]]
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(set: $feeling to (prompt: "How would you feel in this situation?", "at peace"))
I start thrashing around in a wild panic. I can't die. Not like this. I can feel my hot tears being washed away by every wave. I soon realize that panicking isn't doing me any good. "So this is it?" I think to myself. I slowly lower my arms and close my eyes. As I relax, the waves do the same--the iron grip that they had on my throat only seconds before turns into a soft caress all over my body. I feel (print:$feeling).
[[Drown]] (text-style:"italic")[I remember watching TV in my pop's lap when I was little. We were watching a show about space. I remember looking at all that empty space--empty dark space. "In space, no one can hear you scream," the narrator remarked in a gruff and sinister voice. I grabbed on my pop tighter, and he patted my head. "Don't worry, Eb," he chuckled. "We live on Earth. If you scream, I'll always come to your rescue."]
Quietly laughing to myself I realize, here, underwater, no one can hear you scream either. So I let the water consume me, and make a home of my body. I close my eyes, content with my fate, but something bright dances under my eyelids. I open my eyes to a bright light. I squint, trying to see what it is. It's a mahogany door with a dark brown handle. It's cracked open just a little, and through that small opening I hear clearly the scream. Aaliyah is in there.
[[Swim towards Aaliyah]]I struggle against the current, finding a newfound motivation to survive. As I swim closer, her screams get louder and louder. "I'm coming, Aaliyah," I try to yell as the salty water enters my mouth. I begin to cough violently, and my eyes start to get (text-style: "blur") [cloudy. The bright shine of the door begins to fade and my head feels fuzzy. This can't be the end I just need to touch the door knob.]
[[Reach for the doorknob]]
[[Asphyxiate]] <script>
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I try my best to reach for the doorknob. My vision begins to double and I become unsure of which knob is the real one. I struggle against the current and grab at the clearest one. Lucky for me it's the real one. I turn the knob, and open the door to see a small room with hard wood floors, and milky white paint on the walls. Some of the paint is chipping around the ceiling fan and in the corners of the room. This looks like my parent's room in my old house?
I try to move the wet hair out of my face so I can see better-- "Whoa! What happened to my hands?" I scream. Why do I sound like a five year old? In the midst of my confusion, I realize Aaliyah's whinning is now coming from the crib next to me. But there's also yelling coming from my parent's bathroom directly ahead of me.
[[Go to the crib]]
[[Go to the bathroom]]You (text-style: "shudder") +(color:"red") [drowned.]
Please put your sound on.
[[Start]]I walk to the crib and look inside, still tall enough to do so without standing on my tippi-toes. I see Aaliyah in the crib, remembering that this is how she looked as a baby. Smooth caramel skin with plump lips and small, squinted eyes. Her eyes were puffy now, probably from crying so much. She looks about three, which must mean I'm seven. I reach inside the carriage and try to pick her up as carefully as I can. "It's okay. Shh, it's okay." I kiss her forehead and she begins to quiet down. I miss this--when she was little enough to be held and not steal my clothes.
After rocking her for a while, she finally falls back asleep. I kiss her forehead, and carefully put her back in the crib.
I still hear my parents arguing in the bathroom.
[[Go to the bathroom]] I walk to the bathroom, taking careful and quiet steps. I hear the slight creak from the floorboards under my feet and wince. As I get closer, the angry murmurs become a clear argument.
"You can't expect me to provide for them by myself, Dani."
"It's not my fault. Th-they don't pay me enough over there. I work my ass off, and for what? Lower than minimum wage? How am I-"
"I know...you got fired. I've known for a little while."
"Shit, Shan, how did you find out?"
"Jonathan's wife told me. Why didn't you tell me yourself?"
"...I didn't want you to worry. But I swear I'm looking for other jobs right now. I've even circled some good ones in the paper-"
"Dani, this isn't going to work. You've gotten fired from almost every job you've worked at. We can't provide for two kids on my salary alone. I'm taking the kids to my mother's."
"What, without me? Come on, Shan. You've gotta trust me. I'll get us out of this mess."
"We've already been evicted. I'm taking the kids tomorrow. I'm sorry, but I have to do what's best for them."
[[Mom comes out of the bathroom]]Mom comes out of the bathroom with a tired look on her face. Once she sees me standing outside th door, she fixes her face into a forced smile.
"Come on, honey. Time for bed." Before I turn to leave the room, I see my pop sitting on the toilet with his head in his hands. It wasn't until later that my mom told me he had an addiction to heroine.
Mom tucked me in and kissed my forehead. Even in the dark room, I could still see the tears in her eyes. Mute as a child, I didn't say anything to console her. I simply stared at her until she said, "Everything's gonna be okay." Almost as if she was telling herself. With that, she kissed my head, said goodnight and left the room.
[[Wake up]]I wake up on the bus to Hill's End. I look out the window and see endless rows of trees and empty roads. Karma Police plays in my ear and I silently pray that my nightmares stop when I get to my grandparent's house. I turn to see the old man next to me. He hasn't moved since we got on the bus, and I'm starting to wonder if he's dead. The only other people here are a loud little kid and exhausted mom ahead of us.
I look at my phone and the time is 2:42 pm. "Hm." I whisper to myself. Deja vu I guess. Mom said we were supposed to arrive around 6 so we have a long way to go. I turn up my music and brace myself for the boring ride ahead of me.
[[End]]That's all, folks! Thanks for reading my very, very long twine. I appreciate it! This is only the beginning of the comic I'm writing, so I hope you like it!