PLAYING AGAINST A PHANTOM - PETER PARKER

001. WAKING UP TO A BROKEN REALITY

EVERYTHING WAS A HAZE OF SOUNDS, AND COLORS, GLAZED WITH A FEELING OF SOMETHING ALL TOO FAMILIAR FOR THE YOUNG GIRL: FEAR. It was the same kind of fear that picked at your mind when something tragic was about to happen, the kind of fear that kept you far away from the dangers of what if? What if I jump but don't land right and break a bone? What if something is hiding past the surface of the water? What hides in the deep of the darkness where the light cannot touch you? What if everything that could go wrong does go wrong, leaving you alone, broken, or suffering in a kind of pain that medicine cant heal?

When it came to it, fear was an old friend that kept her from the freedom of living but helped keep her naive mind from falling too deep into the darkness, leaving her in a between where you're not dead, but not living. You simply exist.

Among the web of sounds that entwined with one another, filled with an ocean of scenes and moments she did not recognize, Soledad knew she was not in a safe place.

Scenes in one continuous motion blended in a confusing haze that only left more questions than answers; a yellow daffodil against white sheets, a slim hand with henna reaching out under the veil of pale moonlight, a thin silver ring with hints of blue on the palm of an adult hand, a scythe of the deepest black leaning against the corner of a room, and finally a face cloaked in black bindings all around, leaving a pair of glowing blue eyes uncovered. Her mind lingered on that one image, staring at sharp eyes before the sound of metal sliding against something solid sent her heart racing. The face with blue eyes now had a trail of blood painted across its exposed skin, and those eyes never faltered.

In the blink of an eye, an immense feeling of pain split through the girl's bones. A scorching feeling from the inside quickly overtook her skin, to the point that it felt like she was burning alive. The fire oozed from inside her chest, traveling across her ribcage in all directions until she could feel the tips of her fingers with high sensitivity. In the next split second, the air was knocked out of her lungs with such force that her eyes snapped open to a blinding white light.

"Somebody help me restrain her!"

The voice was solid, close at arms reach, but Soledads mind could not process the voices meaning. Hands soon followed the voice, holding her arms, legs, and shoulder blades against a surface. Her body was out of her control, shaking and twisting in a desperate attempt to be free. She was a caged animal squirming against its hold before its impending death came, and like an animal fighting for its life, she whimpered and whined, cried, and pleaded in her mind for a form of salvation.

"Hold her down for a second," the same voice ordered.

That same fear from before came back tenfold, replacing the pain that seemed to break her bones and destroy her skin. The young girl's mind, even in its state of panic, could recognize the intention in the person's voice even if they couldn't recognize an accent, a familiarity, or if it was even a man or a woman. She just knew that something was about to happen.

No! she cried out weakly, banging her head against the surface below her until strands of loose hair fell over her face, no, no! No! No!

A sharp sting pinched at the skin on her neck, to which she cried out with a loud yell. Her body grew slow and heavy, the burning feeling washing away along with the itch across her skin, No, no, no, no.

Shifting her head from one side to the other, the hands loosened their grip while her breathing turned labored. Blinking the blinding lights away, Soledad could make out random faces surrounding her, draped in colors of blue and green. They were all different, and she couldn't recognize a single one of them.

Its going to be okay, breath, the voice tried to guide her with a much softer and gentle tone.

No, Soledad continued to plead, no, no.