The shrieking woman clawed up the ladder behind Allison, snagging her heels while she climbed the rungs. She reached the wooden stand and heaved her body up onto it. Her legs barely held her anymore, quivering beneath her as her body hit the weather-beaten planks. She rolled onto her back, and using the last of her energy she kicked at the ladder. It bounced back a few inches only to fall back into place against the platform.
The shrieking woman’s hand reached up and sank black nails into Allison’s calf, carving out strips of flesh. Allison’s scream of agony pierced the air. Deep red blood poured out, soaking into the wood beneath her.
The woman’s dirt-covered face appeared at the top of the ladder. Eyes full of anger and drive flickered with cunningness. A blood-stained smile spread across her face, showing teeth spotted with bits of flesh. The whites of her eyes now crimson with her own blood. She again seized Allison’s injured leg and pulled, digging her nails into the fresh wound. Allison reached behind her head, grasping the edge of the platform firmly with her fingers. She held on tightly as the woman pulled, dragging Allison closer. The woman let out a deep grumble as she clawed at Allison.
“Let go of me!” Allison kicked again, landing her bare foot in the woman’s mouth, her heel splitting open on the woman’s bloody teeth. Blood sprayed the woman’s face like red freckles on her soiled skin.
The woman growled, revealing shattered front teeth, some stringy bits of Allison’s tissue still embedded in bloody gums. She released Allison’s leg. Blood mixed with white foam ran out the corners of her mouth as she snarled. The woman’s bloodshot eyes fixed on Allison in a fiery stare.
Allison’s final kick landed on the woman’s nose, crushing it even further and causing blood to gush like river rapids down her naked body. She lost her grip, arms flung in the air as she teetered on the rungs. The woman fell backward as she reached for the ladder in a final attempt to regain her balance. The unsecured ladder leaned back as the woman did. She hit the ground with a thud, a confetti of autumn leaves falling around her. The ladder rested on her still body.
Allison timidly peered over the side of the perch. The woman was motionless, her limbs twisted and bent in areas that shouldn’t bend, the moon shining on her like a spotlight. Her eyes were empty. The leaves framed her body in the colors of fall. Tears welled in Allison’s eyes, her throat burned as she sobbed. I’ve killed someone. Her stomach churned and she hurled bile off the side of the platform. Her body trembled as tears soaked her face in a confusion of relief and guilt.
Allison stared at the lifeless body below her. Did she have a family? What was her name? What was wrong with her? Allison’s body ached. This can’t be real. This isn’t real. She averted her eyes from the broken body she had caused. She rolled to her back, shifting her gaze to the stars. But the burning in her throat continued, and her tears increased. She’d killed someone and she could never, ever take it back.
Allison’s leg was on fire. The blood from her wound pooled beneath her in a warm, sticky puddle. She ripped her dress, using a strip of the fabric as a makeshift tourniquet to slow the bleeding. Her injured leg was the color of Red Hots with purple veins pulsating beneath the surface. The purple in her veins was spreading, first to her calf, then her knee, and continued up her thigh. Her wounds were raw, warm, and turning black. Her exhausted body was shaking, and sweat further soaked her clothes as the pain in her leg intensified. Allison let out a sound resembling the cries of a birthing woman and the screams of a car crash victim combined. A stinging sensation spread from the wound on her leg like bites from fire ants working their way up her body. Allison pressed her hands on the wound, wrapping her fingers around her leg, leaving fingernail indentations in her skin as she squeezed. She hoped that applying pressure would magically make the pain disappear. Please stop, please stop. A haze fell over her mind as she struggled to make sense of her thoughts and her vision blurred. The pain spread and Allison fell into blissful unconsciousness to the sound of her own voice screaming in unfathomable pain.
Chapter Two Allison
Allison’s head felt as if she had been grinding her teeth together for hours. Her temples were tense. Her body ached, and hard, rough bumps protruded into her back. Allison wanted an Advil, but no amount of medication would take away this pain.
She opened her eyes despite the throbbing in her head that begged her not to. Tiny streams of sun peeked out from between green leaves in the treetops. Her skin tingled as a warm, soft breeze spread over her body. The wind touched her in places that she only reserved for lovers and her gynecologist. She sat up and looked at herself. She didn’t have a stitch of clothing on. Her bare skin was coated in a thick layer of black dirt. She laughed. It must have been some party.
She thought back to drinking microbrews while watching frat boys play beer pong. What happened next? She tried to remember more, but her memories eluded her. How much did I drink? Her auburn hair fell over her chest, almost covering her breasts in a tangled mess intertwined with sticks and hard clumps of dirt. What the hell?
Allison stood up, her head swimming as the trees started spinning around her. She stumbled back, trying to find her footing on the uneven landscape, catching herself on a tree before she fell back
