Enigma Black-Prologue

This is the last posting of Enigma Black I'm going to do.  The following Prologue is something that I'm going to need to revise.  It's probably one of the last revisions I'm going to make before I again ship it off to agents and publishing companies.  However, given the success of e-books through Kindle, Nook, Barnes & Noble, etc., I'm seriously contemplating just e-booking it instead.

Prologue

Where you used to be, there is a hole in the world, which I find myself constantly walking around in the daytime, and falling in at night. I miss you like hell

~Edna St. Vincent Millay

Cloaked in shadows neatly tucked away atop a stone ledge, I waited for him. In the months since I'd been whisked away from my former life, waiting was all I seemed to do. Waiting for the day I could return to that life; waiting for the day I would die in triumphant vindication; waiting for the day I would finally obtain the vengeance I so dearly sought.

Vengeance—it’s such a simple word for such a complex action. How I’d dreamt of nothing but it these last ten years. It consumed me, forcing me to drink it in until I’d become intoxicated with its essence. It’d been the single pervasive thought haunting my existence, continuously running through my mind in a sadistic loop. Unable to sober-up, I’d stumbled through the last decade of my life plagued with the inability to think of anything else but my last memories of them and the day of carnage that took them away from me.

Vengeance--it was almost within my grasp. Soon, I would have the power to attain it. However, such power--I’d learned--does not come without a price; and this particular price had been paid for with my life.  The autumn air whipped through my hair caressing what little skin still remained exposed to the elements. Before becoming the property of The Cause autumn had been my favorite time of year. The smell of the air was invigorating and the leaves on the trees now aflame with crimsons and gold’s were positively mesmerizing. It always amazed me how something could be so beautiful as it lay dying. Perhaps, the same could be said about me now. I was an empty shell left abandoned on the beach unable to facilitate life. Besides, even if I had wanted to feel alive again, it just simply wasn’t allowed of me. The colder and more desensitized I was the more liable to kill without blinking an eye I would be.

My former home had fallen into despair these last ten years. Strewn throughout the once prosperous metropolis were dilapidated buildings and empty store fronts creating a virtual ghost town where life once reigned supreme. Most of these dwellings had been abandoned by those who chose to leave the confines of the city in favor of secluded locations where the presence of the New Order was not yet evident. Little did they know, however, these locations no longer existed but were merely destinations of mythological proportions.

It was during my times of contemplation atop my precipice that I would get what I was waiting for. For me, seeing Chase Matthews was the only remaining bright spot I had left in this world. He kept my heart beating, unwittingly providing me with the reassurance that I wasn’t quite dead yet. Through his dimly lit window I would watch him from my vantage point on the ledge during the nights when I could escape from my confines unquestioned.

I knew that I shouldn’t be here, but his aura was like a magnet pulling me toward its glow. His grip on me was strong making my visits to this ledge so frequent that I was beginning to ponder whether a permanent imprint of my rear would become indented into the cement.

My former life with him had been nothing short of perfect. In his arms, I’d regained the feeling of safety and security that was ripped from me in my youth. His big blue eyes looking into mine always made me weak, a feat of which nothing else had successfully been able to accomplish. I’d been strong in my former life without even having been manufactured to be as I was now.

A tear streamed down my cheek burning my skin on its descent. It was yet another sign of the weakness I was forbidden to display back at my new home; but this ledge was not my home and I couldn’t help it anymore. There was still a glimmer of the Celaine Stevens I used to be under the mask I was made to wear. That was something they would never be able to take away from me. I’d given them my life, my body and my mind but my soul was all mine and would remain so until my dying day.

He was every bit the awkward brand of perfection I remembered him as being. Often, I would find myself unable to break my gaze away from him for I never knew when or if I‘d ever get the chance to gaze upon him again. Closing my eyes, I envisioned our former life together and, for a moment, I could almost feel his lips on mine again--a feeling I hadn’t been able to experience in what seemed like an eternity.

He rummaged through his dresser drawer pulling out a pair of neatly folded shorts and methodically set them on his bed. I could tell by the way he haphazardly stumbled around his room that this particular night had been a trying one for him. Fumbling with the buttons on his shirt he proceeded to undress causing a familiar burning sensation to spread across my cheeks. A part of me felt as though I should avert my eyes as the sight of my former lover half dressed would do little to help my present situation, but I couldn’t help it. Instead, I scanned every inch of his toned physique affectionately remembering the nights when I would lie next to him with his broad shoulders encasing me.

Moonlight shone down upon my ledge as a passing cloud gave way. It was then, in that instant, he looked up in my direction as if suspecting my presence. He would never see me. I was trained to stay in the shadows; to be the perfect assassin.

It was getting late and they would be expecting me back soon. Standing up, I braced myself for my descent from the ledge and, with one effortless leap, flung myself off of it letting the wind tear through my body. It was time to get back home to my prison; to my destiny; to my own personal hell.

Enigma Black-Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The Dawn of Totalitarianism

Democracy is a very fragile thing.  You have to take care of democracy.  As soon as you stop being responsible to it and allow it to turn into scare tactics, it’s no longer democracy, is it?  It’s something else.  It may be an inch away from totalitarianism.
~Sam Shepard

President Brooks was many things. He was vivacious, outspoken, and, at the age of thirty-eight, he was also the youngest President ever to have been elected into office. While many had been put off by his youth, most were enthusiastic about the handsome, young senator and his uncanny ability at bringing unity to the Senate. Public outpouring of support for him was so momentous that, on the dawn of Election Day, the Presidency was all but handed to him. Consensus was that we were approaching the dawning of a new era and President Brooks was seen as the visionary who’d carry our country over the threshold.

Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened.

Our country’s new era dawned two years after the bombings at the The Lakes, as the fear of the unknown continued to encapsulate the nation. Several more attacks had taken place; some were work of deranged copycats, but most were confirmed to have been perpetrated by The Man in Black.  After early opposition initially derailed President Brooks’ proposed curfew, another attack prompted him to again address the subject. Propelled by fear and the reassurance of the eventual return to safety and security, it was soon decided that a curfew should be enacted temporarily barring anyone from being out on the streets past ten at night other than for employment or emergency related purposes. With minimal opposition, the Bill was passed by Congress and would remain in effect until those responsible for the attacks were brought to justice.

However, when society allows one liberty to fall, the rest of the dominoes follow suit.

Billed as another means of ensuring safety, travel restrictions were imposed soon after the institution of the curfew. Patrols were dispatched to all state lines making interstate travel too much of a hassle for most families to attempt. Those who chose to travel by air were subjected to strip searches, body scans and the issuing of a Federal Aviation Administration-approved flight suit.　 Their clothes were bagged, tagged and given back to them at their final destination.

President Brooks ushered in the dawning of a new era; the era of totalitarianism.

Enigma Black-Chapter 4 (Oh what the heck)

Okay kiddies, this is the last chapter I will be posting.  Remember, I'm still in the editing process, so what you read is not perfect and some parts will change. 

Chapter 4

The Ledge

I’d never been through an earthquake before nor had I ever heard of one occurring on the East Coast.  Therefore, in hindsight it seemed like a fairly odd conclusion for me to have rendered as the Earth shook beneath my feet and the sky began falling in around me.

Immediately in response, I steadied myself against a railing separating the third floor from a sixty foot drop.  Discernable screams of fear and shocked surprise broke through the chaos. Intermingled with those screams were gruesome cries of anguish whose presence was silenced by the sound of concrete striking the floor.

Smoke invaded The Lakes blending in with the hurricanes of dust being generated with each explosion, three in all, creating the perfect storm. It was, in the aftermath of the final explosion, that the railing serving as my sanctuary began to buckle. The steel squealed in defeat as the piece supporting my body suddenly swung out over the center of the mall bringing me with it. In shock, I looked down at the floor below my dangling feet noticing that the majestic thirty foot fountain, and the crowning glory of The Lakes, now stood in nothing more than piles of broken concrete.

My heart raced rapidly inside my chest as my body hung over the chasm.  Tears welled inside my eyes from the fog of smoke encasing me, impairing my vision.  A sudden tremor then shook throughout the mall causing the third floor to shift once more and the portion of the railing I clung to creaked as it slowly started to break away from its foundation.  Holding on tighter to the metal bars, I knew that if I didn’t act fast I too would be in pieces like the concrete beneath me.

Taking a deep breath, I slid my body upwards to the third floor. Inch by inch I hoisted myself along the railing in a near vertical climb up the side of what had once been the floor beneath me.
　
"Keep going, Celaine, you aren’t going to die here…not like this," I repeatedly told myself unconvincingly.

Halfway to my destination further disaster struck. Droplets of water began raining down from the mall’s sprinkling system. These water droplets dripped unrelentingly down the sides of the metal railing rendering it a virtual slip-and-slide in my hands.  Any grasp I’d had on it was suddenly compromised forcing me to slide back down it.  If I couldn’t find a way to battle my way back quickly, I would be in dire trouble. Before that day, I hadn’t realized just how amazing the sheer human will to live was. At the point when I should have lost my grip, my adrenaline kicked in. With this new burst of energy came an overpowering determination that only intensified as I forced my body back up the railing. Before I knew it, I’d surpassed the point where I’d slid down.

Water poured in steadily from both the sprinkling system and the remnants of the mall’s ceiling soaking me to the bone. The bitterly cold air from the outside was also making its way inside sending my damp body into shock.

"Inch by inch," I repeated to myself.

I could feel the varietal mountain I was climbing beginning to tremble again making me fully aware of the fact that I didn’t have much longer before the final avalanche struck.  It was a culmination of every horror movie I could think of except I kept telling myself that the lifeless figures scattered on the floor below me were nothing more than mannequins.

That illusion was shattered when I saw the blood.

The railing shuddered again forcing my body to swing precariously back and forth. I looked back up the metal pole and gasped in shock upon realizing that less than an inch of steel was left binding it to the rest of the railing. Desperately, I made one last heave propelling myself away from the pole and, to my relief, my hands managed to grasp the jagged edge of the third floor foundation. Using all the remaining energy I could muster, I pulled my body safely to the floor just as the railing broke loose falling to the rubble.

I lay crumbled on the dust-covered floor, sobbing. Dust and smoke created such an impenetrable haze that, if not for the mini fires spouting from the perforated gas lines, I wouldn‘t have been able to see at all. In pain, I managed to stand up and assess myself.  There were a few minor cuts on my arms but they were otherwise unscathed. I knew that would not be the case elsewhere. As I inspected the burning pain in my thigh, I noticed blood flowing down my leg from an extensive cut leading from the upper thigh halfway to my knee. My jeans had been torn all the way down on one leg exposing my skin. These new wounds made the throbbing knee I’d experienced earlier seem insignificant in comparison.　

As my thoughts began to clear, I remembered the whole reason I was even still in the war-torn mall.  I let out an audible gasp while the tears welled in my eyes. Oh God, no, I thought to myself as I remembered that George, Carol and Jake were waiting for me outside.  Hobbling along the rubble, I ambled towards the department store that was separating me from the parking ramp. It was in this direction that the explosions had come from. 　

Above me, a sudden snap erupted. Looking up to see the source of the sound, I found myself diving out of the way to avoid a skylight as it crashed to the floor sending shards of glass flying in my direction.  Picking myself up from the floor again, I felt my skin prickle. Broken glass had cut into my hands, but neither that nor the pain mattered to me right now.  The entrance to the department store was just yards away and I was going to make it or die trying.　

I climbed over the debris making up the remnants of the department store entrance. Survivors who’d been in the store at the time of the blasts were scrambling to get out, looking at me as though I were suicidal for wanting in.　

"You’re heading to the worst of it!" a woman, covered in dust from head to toe, shouted at me.

I ignored her, continuing my climb into the department store.  To say that this was the worst of it had been an understatement.  War zones probably didn’t look much different than the sight that was before me now.  Smoke infiltrated my lungs causing me to cough so incessantly that my ribs began to ache. As I crouched down to crawl in the more breathable air on the floor below, my hand touched something that felt familiar.　 A scream escaped my lips as I realized that I was holding a hand that was no longer connected to a body. Throwing the hand off to the side, I continued my crawl to the ramp.  My stomach turned and I knew that I had to keep my eyes forward if I was ever going to make it without passing out.　

Almost there, I thought to myself.  The door was within my grasp with an almost blinding beam of light shining through it into the smoke.  It was funny how I hadn’t noticed there being a light there before. The department store had always seemed so dark in the direction of the ramp.  Even more amazing to me was that the entryway appeared to be intact.  With my target in sight, I took a deep breath using my remaining strength to spring to my feet, running the rest of the way to the door.

The automatic door was more manual than automatic now.  I banged on it with my fists attempting to do the job the explosion had been unable to accomplish.  When that failed, I braced a leg on one the side of the frame and, with my aching arms, attempted to pry the door open like a human crow bar.  No luck. After a couple more minutes of kicking, smacking and invariably flipping the door off, I realized that what I was doing was not going to work. Undeterred, I scanned the rubble for an idea. A piece of scaffolding stuck out like a sore thumb within the concrete. Lunging towards it, I prayed it would be suitable to pry the door open.  Just as I bent down to grab it, I felt a hand on my shoulder and another around my waist attempting to pull me back.

"What in the hell do you think you’re doing!" A man whirled me around to face him. His eyes were wild, his hair gray from soot. He appeared to be a security guard or an officer of sorts. It was too hard to tell based on what was left of his uniform. "There’s nothing left, do you hear me? The ramp is gone. You’re going to get yourself killed trying to go out there."

Even though I heard the words he spoke they made absolutely no sense to me.  What did he mean the ramp was gone?  It had just been there twenty minutes ago.  Deciding that the good officer was crazy I broke away from him and proceeded onward to grab the metal bar.

"No!" he screamed at me again attempting to restrain me.


I’d had enough. As much as I didn’t want to do it, I felt like I had no other option but to disable the officer as reasoning with him was clearly not going to work.  Raising my arm, I forcibly swung it back striking him in the chest. The force of my elbow to his rib cage caused him to release his grip on me enough to where I was able to break away. Once free, I whirled around swiftly kicking him in the legs as hard as I could in the hope　that it would incapacitate him long enough for me to pry the door open.

Fetching the metallic bar from the rubble, I jammed it between the seal and the frame of the doorway pushing with all my strength. At first it put up an admirable fight, but after several solid jabs, it finally conceded defeat, slowly squeaking open. Smoke poured into the store from the outside sending me into another coughing fit. Holding my breath, I gave the bar a few more solid pushes until enough room was created for me to squeeze my entire body through. Through the cloud of smoke, I took off down the crumpled concrete. On the outside, snowflakes stabbed my face like tiny daggers adding further insult to injury.

My eyes worked to focus in the direction I’d left my parents’ vehicle. I walked carefully down the pavement looking for the familiar sight of the garage. I should have been there by now. This walk was taking entirely too long. The fog of smoke slowly became less and less dense the further out I walked, until a wayward gust of wind blew past me punching a hole into the unknown. What it revealed was a scene I hadn’t expected.  Instead of the familiar ramp, I found myself standing on the edge of a cliff with the rest of the city spread out before me.  Sirens surrounded me as I shielded my ears with my bloodied hands.  A strange sound approaching from above drew my attention to the helicopter that was starting to circle around the mall. The hurricane-force wind it generated pushed my broken body in all directions.  Did I take a wrong turn?  Was I that disoriented?

No, I wasn’t.  This was where I’d left my parents and Jacob.  They had been right here.  A thought occurred to me then; a thought that rendered my delicate stomach as fragile as an egg shell.  Taking in a deep breath, I slowly walked to the edge of the pavement peering over the side only to see what I already knew would be there.

"No! God no," I screamed as I dropped to my knees and sobbed.  In anguish, I repeatedly punched the pavement over and over again, breaking my hand.  The physical pain, however, was not something I remember even feeling to this day. My body was already too numb from the emotional shock. Over the edge of the newly-formed cliff, my family’s fate had been revealed to me.  Strewn in a mass of broken pavement were pieces of steel in every shape, size and color.  Attached to these pieces of steel were tires, antennas, and license plates. My father, mother and brother were down there at the bottom of that cliff.  The parking ramp had been the epicenter of the blasts.

On the pavement of the ledge I lay; immobile and unfeeling.  I was wet, cold, broken and I didn’t care about anything anymore. From what I was told later by both my doctors and from reports on the news, I’d laid immobile on that ledge for about an hour before firefighters were able to remove me from my perch.  My motionless body was on the national news serving as the perfect illustration for the devastation that had transpired that day.　

One of the firefighters, who’d eventually rescued me from the ledge, carried me to an ambulance where EMTs stripped the soggy clothing from my body.  I must have been shaking pretty badly as they enveloped me in blankets almost instantaneously.  After I’d been secured, the ambulance fired up racing to what I assumed would be Hope Memorial Hospital.

"Poor thing," a pretty, young EMT stated while attaching various tubes to my body.

I heard the other EMT, a man, who’d obviously been the seasoned veteran of the two, with salt and pepper hair and a stare devoid of all emotion, speak as he radioed ahead to the hospital.  "Teenaged female with probable hypothermia, smoke inhalation and a possible broken right hand…possible bilateral rib fractures and multiple contusions. Estimated time of arrival is ten minutes."　

The woman EMT whose last name was "Topper"--or so I gathered from the badge dangling around her neck--soothingly caressed my cheeks. She then began humming a familiar tune I recognized from my youth and the volumes of lullabies my mother used to hum to me at night.  This instant memory of my mother sent a new wave of pain coursing through my body and a small tear formed in my eye.

"She looks catatonic," she had a worried tone in her voice.

"They’ll do an MRI at Hope Memorial," the male EMT replied un-phased.  "She’s probably just in shock.
There’s no telling what she’s witnessed today."

Topper winced continuing to stroke my cheek.

The last thing I remember that day was the ambulance pulling up in front of Hope Memorial; the hospital that’d become like a second home to me through the years.  The hatch opened and my stretcher was unloaded to a throng of trauma-hungry physicians.  It was a sight that would have made George proud.　 A handful of trauma physicians, some of whom I recognized through my frequent meanderings in the halls, rushed me through the doors into the Emergency Room.

"Oh my gosh! Is that Dr. Steven’s daughter?" one of them exclaimed.

"All pretty girls look the same to you, Scott," another retorted.

It was then that my memory cut off.

#

　
The rain and sleet came splattering down against the umbrella I clutched in my good hand in the sea of black umbrellas gathered together in a tight semi-circle.  In the middle of the circle stood three oak coffins each covered with a bouquet of roses; my mother’s favorite flower.  Standing next to me, Lucy was nearly as devastated as I was. Wanting to comfort me but not exactly sure how to do it, she simply hadn’t understood just how much her mere presence meant to me.

Everything went by in one big blur that day. I’m not sure I could recite a single word of Reverend Logan’s eulogy or any of the heart wrenching memorials given by my father’s colleagues.  I couldn’t remember the names of most of the people who attended the funeral. I couldn’t describe the faces of the individuals who embraced me while passing along their condolences.  All I could focus on were the three oak caskets sitting side by side being pelted by balls of sleet.　

Why had I been spared?  What made me so special?  These were the questions I yearned to have answered but of which I knew answers did not exist.  My father had done so much in the advancement of pediatric medicine and had so much more yet to offer.  Why him and not me?  None of this made sense; none of this was fair.  I watched as the caskets were lowered into their final resting places while the crowd dispersed to their vehicles.  With Lucy still loyally at my side, I continued watching them until they were no longer visible--half tempted to ask for a hole to be dug for me too.　

"Celaine," a voice behind me said soothingly, "are you ready?"

I turned to see my Aunt Tasha looking at me sheepishly.　

"Yeah," I replied.

"Okay. Wait here and I’ll pull the car around."

Carol’s sister, Aunt Tasha, must have drawn the short straw as it was she who would be my guardian for the next year.  This meant a move halfway across the country, but I really didn’t care.  There was nothing left for me here anymore. Lucy was devastated but I reminded her that the year would go by fast and there was always the Internet. That had seemed to appease her for the time being.

"You’re like a sister to me, you know," Lucy murmured almost incoherently through her tears.

"Don’t…don’t get all emotional on me right now Luce." Breaking my gaze away from their coffins I turned to face Lucy wrapping my arms around her. As much as I tried to fight it, I just wasn’t strong enough to keep the tears away.

"Now look who’s getting emotional."

I gave Lucy a small smile releasing her from my grip. "You’ll always be my sister too." With the sleeve of my overcoat, I wiped the tears from my eyes.

"I’ll be back, Luce. I promise."

"You’d better be."

She looked over my shoulder just as my aunt pulled the car off to the side of the drive behind us. "Well, I guess this is goodbye then?" she sighed.

"Only for now."

Giving me one last quick hug, Lucy too wiped a tear from her eye and, with a forced smile, waved to me before walking to her parent’s car. Aunt Tasha must have sensed that I wanted one final moment alone with my family.  For not being good with such "delicate situations" she was handling me like a professional.  I stared at each individual resting place, the places that would eternally hold my father, mother and brother.　

"I promise you that I will do whatever it takes to give stop whoever did this to you. You will not have died without retribution…I…I promise you that I will do what I can to stop this from ever happening again.　 Never again will anyone be made to suffer like this. I promise you…I promise you…even if I have to give up my life to do it, I will stop them. I love you."

My knees, having shaken all day, became too weak to support me. I dropped to the rain-soaked ground sobbing in my good hand.

#

It was later determined that the bombings at The Lakes had been related to the overall string of attacks occurring along the East Coast.  However, this bombing was different in that there were mass casualties; one hundred four in all. There were also witnesses this time who described seeing a mysterious male figure in black.  At least, some had thought him to be a man. Others swore this mysterious figure was more machine than human.  Thus, the story of The Man in Black was born inciting headlines on the front pages of every national newspaper.  Who what this Man in Black?  Why was he doing this? Was he human?  One thing was sure, whoever was doing this was getting bolder.

After The Lakes bombing, panic spread across the country.  People were afraid to leave their homes. They were afraid to live, afraid to die.  Many residents of the larger cities began migrating to less populated parts of the country in an attempt to feel safe again.  Rumors of a nationwide curfew along with the institution of military enforcement in the major cities, spurred talk of the end of democracy. This talk was quickly put to rest by President Brooks.

 

 

 

Enigma Black-Chapter 3

Chapter 3
        The Lakes 　

My father, mother and brother were murdered on a snowy December day just before Christmas. In essence, I was too.

It was another dull, drab December day during the Christmas shopping season when my family made their way into the mall packed with the usual holiday traffic.  This time of year, the city turned into a claustrophobic’s worst nightmare.  Sure, there was an aura of glee and merriment in the air.  It was, after all, just mere days before the big event.  Permeating the atmosphere were the aromas of evergreens, sugar cookies, and cinnamon acting like effervescent buffers keeping the usual smell of exhaust fumes and funk at bay.  Those sights and smells are what I firmly believed prevented a person from going absolutely insane as they spent an eternity in line buying something that was probably only going to get returned anyway.  Merry freaking Christmas.

The Lakes was a plethora of retail paradise where all fads were exploited to the max, ensuring every last penny was being squeezed out of the pocketbooks of the unassuming.  Fads weren’t my thing.  I marched to the beat of my own drummer, much to the dismay of George and Carol. Being as that may, my academic achievements and overall demeanor had earned me my parents’ confidence throughout the years. So, when Jake decided that my hair looked better with Smoothie in it, they didn’t protest to my sudden need to break away.

"It’s not fair" Jake demanded.  "She always gets to go out on her own."

"Well, Jake" my father chimed in.  "Perhaps your mother and I could trust you too if we weren’t so sure something would be lit on fire in our absence."

"That was one time!"

"Tell that to Ms. Jacobson’s cat," Carol added.

It’d taken nearly a full year for ole’ Smokey’s coat to grow back after Jake’s infamous experimentation with bottle rockets, and, still, the cat just wasn’t the same.  Poor Smokey now walked with his head tilted, the smell of signed hair never having fully left him. In a sick and twisted way, I had to laugh at the irony of this occurring to a cat named Smokey.  Besides the obvious lesson, Jake also had learned that, like elephants, cats too never forgot being wronged. Since the incident, any time Smokey would see Jake outside, he’d crouch low to the ground with a maniacal stare etched across his feline face, plotting his revenge.　

"Meet us at the third floor parking ramp at 5:30."

"No problem Geo…dad."

My parents were very liberal when it came to us using their first names but my dad still managed to wince every time his name escaped my lips, forcing me to keep my "Georges" and "Carols" to a minimum. Thanking my parents for the moment of freedom, I stuck my tongue out at Jake as I bounded away.  It was a juvenile move which nonetheless managed to get under his skin and, well, wasn’t that my job?

I’d always felt such a profound sense of freedom after breaking loose from my parents. So much so that, without someone being there to tell me what to do and when to do it, I usually ended up just wandering around aimlessly. There was nothing I needed to do nor was there anything in particular that I really wanted to look for which didn’t help matters.  Scouring around the various shops, I traversed the mall until finally deciding to check out a store pedaling memorabilia from the 80’s.  I didn’t know what it was about the 80’s that drew me in and theorized that I was subconsciously channeling my parents’ long-forgotten youth. When they were just a young couple in love with no children to blow up random animals.

From the moment I entered the store, I was in all my neon, bangle bracelet, big-haired, legging wearing glory.  The employees in the store obviously took their jobs seriously.  With stirrup pants, oversized off the shoulder sweaters and mall bangs to top off, they looked like something straight out of a Tiffany video.  Canvassing the store, I rummaged through hair ties, abnormally large sweaters and huge hoop earrings. Surprisingly, it took quite a bit of searching through the store’s merchandise before a pair of neon pink hoop earrings managed to catch my eye. After all, electric yellow leggings were still a bit of a stretch for me, but I figured I’d graduate to them eventually.

After purchasing the earrings, I meandered through a maze of oversized candy canes, swam through a sea of impatient children and maneuvered my way through the crowd until finally locating a restroom.  As far as public restrooms go, The Lakes wasn’t half bad.  It still wasn’t clean enough to meet my standards, but if it were an emergency I would suck it up and hover.  As I entered, Christmas carols were blaring over the speakers.  It would have been a welcoming sound, deviating from the utter chaos of the mall, if not for the fact I’d been listening to Jingle Bells for the last two months now.  I was truly starting to loathe the Holiday season and all its ho-ho-hokey glory.  Setting my purse down on the sink, I removed the earrings from the neon green plastic bag, fastening them to my earlobes to inspect them further in the mirror.

"Not too shabby Celaine, not too shabby," I said to myself creating amused glances to reflect in the mirror from those around me.

I pinned my brunette hair back to let my new earrings take center stage.  Just as I brought my arm back down into view, I happened to take a glance at my watch instantly gasping at the time. 5:45!  Uh-oh.　 There goes my freedom for the next couple of months.  Without hesitation, I bolted out of the bathroom sprinting, not too gracefully, through the crowd of people while eliciting gasps, expletives and overall general irritation in my wake.  I wasn’t an athlete by any stretch of the imagination but I could run when I had to.  My hope was that my parents had completely lost track of time meaning that I would remain to be seen as the dependable, punctual daughter they thought me to be.  Yeah, no such luck. Jake stood beaming as he watched me approaching.  This was no doubt his vindication for my earlier sisterly gesture.

"There you are!"  my mother proclaimed.  "Really Celaine, we’ve been worried sick."

"I’m sorry mom, I just completely lost track of time and, well, there was a long line to get into the bathroom and...."

"To what, check out your new earrings Young lady I’m not as gullible as you make me out to be. If there’s one gene that I passed on to you, it’s an aversion to public restrooms."

Damn.  "I’m sorry mom, it won’t happen again."

"Well let’s get going" George proclaimed.  "It’s really starting to snow out there."

Dejected, I followed my family out of the mall to the parking ramp with Jake snickering beside me the entire time.  The weather had definitely taken a turn for the worse. That much was evident even in the cement sanctity of the parking ramp. Wind whipped through the rows of automobiles ricocheting off their plastic bodies and inevitably imbedding itself into my flesh.  I shuddered trying not to think about the fact that I’d completely neglected to wear any other means of protection from the elements other than my hooded sweatshirt.  After taking a couple of wrong turns and attempting to break into a vehicle that was the identical twin to ours, we finally made it back to the correct vehicle.

"Celaine, could you give me a hand with this please?" Carol called to me.

"Sure thing."  I grabbed the packages out of my mother’s hand and located room for them in the corner of the trunk.

"Bag lady," Jake sneered.

"Is that the best you got little man?"

"Enough," George quipped.

George started the car as I strapped myself into my seat with my I-Pod preparing for the hour journey back home in our winter wonderland.  My mind now at ease, I began sensing that there was something not quite right. Something was missing, something whose identity presented itself just as we were about to pull out of the third floor parking ramp.

"Do you have any gum by chance?" Carol asked leaning back from the front seat.

"Yeah, let me get my p…"

"Your what?"

"My…uh…purse."

"Okay. So, where is it?"

"Do you really want to know the answer to that question?"

"Oh Celaine," my calm and collective dad was now clearly aggravated.

"It’s in the restroom isn’t it?" my mom asked.

"I do vaguely remember setting it down there."  The vein in my dad’s neck was starting to bulge, his face turning bright red.

"How could you be so careless?"
At this point, Jake was giggling like a school girl.  Christmas had come early for him.　

"I will drive you to the entrance of the mall and we’ll wait for you there. No side trips young lady. You will go straight to that bathroom and back, do you hear me?" George announced, clearly exasperated.

"Dad, I made a simple mistake. No need to brand me with a scarlet letter just yet."

My dad parked just outside of the doorway to the third story mall entrance motioning for me to get out with a big sigh.  Giving my dad an apologetic smile, I shut the door and dejectedly made my way back into the mall.

Had I had any inclination that this would be the last time I’d ever see them again, I would have stolen another glance at them. I would have done anything I could muster to capture the very essence of their faces, to engrave them in my mind forever. Of course, there was no way I could have known that moment was going to be the last time I’d ever see them again.

With speed that would even make an Olympian proud, I ran back into the mall.  The crowds had thinned out somewhat, but not enough to make my journey back to the restroom a walk in the park. There was the usual monotony of screaming children, people stopped haphazardly in paths clearly made for travel and others gathered around in idle chatter about their holiday plans.  It was almost as if the mall itself were conspiring against me.  As the minutes ticked away, I could visualize the vein on George’s neck bulging out further and further until it finally burst in a bloody mess.  The thought of this made me shudder; prompting me to decide that the only way to get around this problem was to go through it.

"Excuse me, pardon me, coming through, girl on the move here people," I exclaimed as I pushed my way through the mob of holiday revelers.　

Crowds were just another reason to hate the holidays--as if I really needed another one.  Its funny how, when you’re in a hurry, time seems to stand still making a simple trip to the restroom seem like a hike across the Yukon.  Of course, knowing that George was getting closer to having a coronary the more time ticked away, didn’t help matters.

Finally, with my destination in sight--and in my rush to get there--I completely neglected to look where I was going. It was only after I crashed to the floor that I saw the felled candy cane that had mysteriously managed to jump out in front of me.  Attempting to compose myself as I stood up in pain, I muttered some words that most certainly would have eradicated my name from the fat jolly man’s "good list".　

The fall managed to pop a cork of negativity in my mind forcing me to realize that, even on an average day, the odds that my purse was still exactly where I’d forgotten it were pretty slim.  Nonetheless, I knew if I were to come back empty-handed I would hear about it from George and Carol for at least the rest of the year and Jake for a good six months.  I let out a sigh preparing to meet my fate as I limped into the ladies room door discovering, to my amazement, that the fates were smiling on me after all.

My purse was there in all its denim glory right on the sink where I’d forgotten it.  Now, whether or not my wallet was still in it was probably a whole other story. I decided I’d worry about that later as the mere presence of the purse itself would be enough to appease George and Carol for the time being.  Quickly, I snatched it by its faded, denim straps and made a bee line out of the restroom back into the mall.　

My knee was throbbing from having been bashed against the linoleum floor. Great, I was probably the only person to have ever suffered a battle wound from a hard day of shopping.  I hobbled along until I came to a bench that just so happened to be located next to the same candy cane of doom that had attempted to foil me. In pain, I rolled up my pant leg to inspect the damage.  Already I could tell that my pasty skin was beginning to bruise around the point of impact was noticeably beginning to swell.  Disgusted with my lack of coordination, I pulled my jeans back down.

It’s amazing how life can change in just a mere matter of seconds.  One moment you’re walking casually through a mall shopping for Christmas presents for your loved ones; the next, everything goes black. Exactly two things happened before my world was quite literally ripped right out from underneath me: First, there were a series of pops resembling those of an automatic firearm; then there was a flash of light so bright I swore the sun had crashed into the earth.　

Amidst those thunderous blasts and that flash of light, life as I knew it came crashing to an end.