Something old

MOONS (an excerpt)
She stared hard at the chips in the wood floor; waiting. She tried focusing and then blurring her vision—concentrating on the difference. She cracked all her knuckles and nervously adjusted her clothing before leaning back in the fraying armchair. She waited, with the rest of them, playing with the bothersome piece sitting below her tongue.

For what, she wasn’t sure. Something spectacular maybe, though she had heard it would not be this way.

Something different at least; anything to break from the usual patterns of reality. Her curiosity for what was hidden beneath terrified her into nervous trembling...or maybe that was the cold. She shifted her weight and curled her feet up underneath her for extra warmth before wrapping a nearby blanket around her shoulders. Ninja turtles floating along the bright print of the blanket brought a sharp sense of reality to her surroundings. She sighed and fidgeted some more—antsy for something.

She finally gathered her ninja turtles around her and moved from the room of anxious people to meander the spacious house. She began to wonder why no one else seemed to be seeking warmth. She could see her breath coming out in small puffs; dissipating into the already smoky air inside the hallway. She shivered and moved into the next bedroom, making small talk before sitting on the floor—again—to do more waiting.

It happened somewhere between the losing track of time and losing interest in the conversation. A boy she didn’t know was sitting across the room, staring with drunken eyes at nothing in particular while his grip slowly loosened on the Captain Morgan he was holding.

God—she hated these sort of parties.

It was then--as the bottle made its final drop to the floor, startling the boy--that she realized she could no longer see his face. She glanced around the room and was surprised to find she could no longer see anyone’s face. Their features were simply erased, leaving a blank blur of skin. Scared by this sudden change, she concentrated on the blanket fuzz before that too, started morphing, moving, lines creeping off the material onto her arm. She watched it grow until the lines had made their way around her entire body. She could feel her face tighten as they rose up her neck and over her chin. She quickly looked to her left—to another—wanting to see his reaction to the unruly blanket. Just as she did this, the lines fell back into place.

She felt much better.

Time would pass in awkward chunks of fast forward and slow motion, often with jerky transitions as she struggled to function at the same speed as everyone else.

Tonight. One night would be ok she supposed. She could handle it. If only she could find another blanket....