Red Eyes

But The Day After Is Harder

"Aurora! Aurora!" came a desperate cry from behind me. Someone was calling my name... A young voice, the voice of a startled child. I spun around, but all I could see was the black of darkness.

"Hello?" I called into the nothing.

"Aurora!" the voice came again, this time far louder and much more frightened. Despite the fact that I couldn't see a thing, I began to run in the direction the voice seemed to be coming from. If there was a helpless child in danger there was no way I could just leave them! But that voice... It seemed strangely familiar. How did I know that voice?

"Help me," the voice said, this time right behind me. I turned to find a little girl staring up at me with wide brown eyes. Despite the fact that the world around me was eerily dark, I was able to make out every feature of this child. Her skin was a light brown, not unlike my own, and her hair was just as long and dark as mine. Even her facial structure mirrored my own. It was like looking in a funhouse mirror. The only notable difference, besides age, was the strange scar that traced across her left cheek. I knelt down so I was at eye level with her.

"What's the matter?" I asked. She reached out and cupped my cheek in her small palm. Her skin was unnaturally cold.

"You left me," she said, her voice broken.

"What?"

"You left me!" she repeated, her voice turning into a shrill scream. Her fingers suddenly dug into my cheek. I let out a surprised cry as I stumbled away from her. The young girl's eyes narrowed into a hateful glare and their dark brown color suddenly changed to a blood-like red.

"A changeling?" I gasped, scrambling to my feet as the girl started walking towards me. I stepped backwards trying to keep myself at a distance from her.

"You left me, Aurora!" she cried again. Her face was changing as she approached me. The scar was suddenly an open cut and her once pure white nightgown was darkening into a grisly grey matted with blood and dirt. Other cuts and bruises were starting to form on her skin. Soon she was wearing nothing but rags and blood dripped from all over her body.

"You did this to me, Aurora! Why did you leave me?" she shouted. Then, suddenly, she lunged, her walk turning into an inhumanly fast sprint. Without thinking, my arm flew forward. My hand sparked and an abrupt flame traveled from my fingertips to the girl. She let out a loud shriek. The high-pitched tone echoed in the empty void around us and pierced my ears. My flaming hand extinguished as I reached up to cover my ears in an attempt to block out the noise. My attempt was futile. In fact, it seemed to make her scream even louder. I squeezed my eyes shut, and the lack of sight caused me to loose my balance. I tipped and fell but there was no impact of hitting the ground. My eyes flew open, but everything just looked black. I was falling through never ending darkness, engulfed by blood curdling screams.

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I gasped as my eyes flew open. My heart was still pounding loudly in my chest as the dream slowly began to fade. I stared at the white ceiling above me, which was illuminated with the rays of early morning sun. A sudden loud crash sounded, causing me to jerk upright into a sitting position. With a pounding heart, I turned to face the door and my hands ignited, ready for an attack. The little girl who stood before me stared, her eyes wide with fear. The loud crash had been from the door slamming open in her excitement to see me.

"Carol," I said, my voice breathless with relief. My hands instantly extinguished as my body relaxed.

"What's wrong, Aurora?" she asked, approaching my bed cautiously.