somebody that i used to know

main story

my breath begins to shudder, my eyes clamped shut while my brow furrowed. i can feel everything all of the sudden. sorrow. anxiety. guilt. what have i done? why am i feeling like this?

my eyelids suddenly begin to spasm uncontrollably as if my subconscious couldn't bare to float in the darkness behind closed eyelids. suddenly, i open my eyes out of instinct as i hear something rustling behind me. where the hell am i?

as i take in my surroundings, i can't process what's happening. what's my name? who am i? where am i? i'm standing in the middle of what seems to be the first floor of an abandoned mall. the sunlight creeps in from the broken glass ceiling above— but that's all that i can see. there were no clouds outside from what i could tell. i couldn't even tell the color of the sky, really. the only thing that was visible to my eyes were the few streaks of sunlight that were not blinding.

i looked back down and examined my surroundings more closely, still standing in the same position that i was in. everything had a yellow-tinge to it. rust coating every metal surface while petrichor and the smell of musk engulfed my senses whenever i took a deep breath in. i winced and exhaled, the smell disturbing my nose and seemingly my subconscious.

all of a sudden, a feeling of dread emerged once again. didn't i just hear someone or something moving behind me just a few moments ago?

i couldn't move. i was frozen. my limbs tingled, the sensation radiating from my core to the very tips of my fingers. my heart began pounding as if a lion were chasing me uphill. my eyes didn't know what to focus on as they kept shifting from abandoned store to abandoned store. my lips began trembling. i bit them as i knew if i didn't stop them, i would begin to whine in fear. i was scared out of my mind.

all of the sudden, a loud noise emerged from what i assumed were the speakers of the mall. i kneeled down and covered my ears, my eardrums pounding against my brain. then, out of nowhere, a song began playing. even though my hands covered my ears, i could still make out what the song was.

"now and then i think of when we were together... like when you said you felt so happy you could die..."

my heart dropped and my eyes shot open. why is this song playing? why does this song take my breath away in the most awful way possible? the song was slightly distorted, the melody shifting octaves up and down as if being played from a wobbly vinyl. it was also echoing throughout the mall, covering up any sounds that could be made just from how unbearably loud it was, to me at least.

"i told myself that you were right for me... but felt so lonely in your company..."

i finally stood up and looked around. there wasn't anything or anyone that could've made the noise i heard. a shiver traced my spinal cord, almost as if long fingernails were scratching every nook and cranny of it in a zig zag pattern. i'm cold. my being was shaking uncontrollably. am i cold? or am i just scared? it's hard to tell at this point. my head is getting jumbled together and my thoughts are becoming less coherent.

"now you're just somebody that i used to know..."

i could see my vision fading slightly, at least that's what i think i'm seeing? i can't recall what just happened. i feel dizzy. i can't move my arms properly and every movement that i make feels delayed. is time moving forward or backwards? what's happening to me? i'm scared.

"but i don't wanna live that way, reading into every word you say..."

my eyes opened and i found myself lying on the ground, staring at the cracking ceiling above me. the light is no longer white, rather red with traces of purple and orange. the song is no longer as loud as it once was, and now i can hear it clearly. i can hear them clearly. they're screaming my name. they're urging me to fall deeper into this realm that i'm in.

"somebody that i used to know..."

i stretch my left arm upwards as if i was reaching for an arm to come drag me out of this hell that i'm in. no one is coming. my movements are so slow. i can't recall what i'm thinking or what i was thinking. everything is becoming blurred together, the lines are no longer as clear as they once were. they're growing louder and more impatient. i can feel their footsteps heaving towards me, their dampness growing restless. they're growing hotter. they're coming for me.

"that i used to know..."

something grabbed my hair, i could faintly make out that it was the shape of a hand. though my senses were so out of tune that i can't really tell anyway. i'm forgetting how  tospeak and think at this point.' it's getting harder to breatheband i'm doing it manually.? the hand is cold, the fingernailss are long, and their rage is unresting. i have to pay the price. this is whag they're telling me i must do. i need to suffer consequences.

imm so sorry. it was neve rmeant to be this way.
i lo