Chapter 2
1259 Words
Imagine waiting in line inside a noisy and crowded supermarket and the movement is slower than a snail's. And all you have to pay for is a can of coke. If you know what that feels like then you understand the way I felt when Olivia dragged me into the mob of festival goers dressed in bright red and yellow combo shirts with matching red bandanas and waving red flaglets.
The city center was filled with people. They were cheering and screaming and yelling alongside the marching band's tune of Olè Ola. There were a lot of bumps, kicks, drags, foot getting stepped on and fvck! Someone had intentionally hit me in the groin.
The Red Parade was an event that formally opens the celebration of Cavaldon's founding anniversary. It is done annually and is celebrated for an entire week around the city and everyone seems to be here. The theme was always red. I didn't know why. They could've chosen a different color but why red? The festivities seemed more of a bloody mess to me than a cheerful street party. Well, parties are always a mess.
"Can we go somewhere else?" I asked Olivia. I had to yell at her because it was too crowded that people's voices swallowed mine. Olivia turned to me, smiling widely. She was wearing a red headband with a Minnie Mouse patch on it. She had managed to fight her way up to the front line beside the sidewalk.
"We can't!" she yelled back. "Tyson Griegh is coming!"
I frustratedly puffed air. Tyson Griegh is one of the most popular boybands in the country and will have their concert in Cavaldon later tonight. I am not a big fan of music but I consider the group superb pop icons. But right now, I don't know. The only thing that is in my mind is this: Go home, grab a blanket and sleep!
"Okay, then let me just find a place to sit," I said. "My foot hurts!" I didn't know how many times my poor foot had been crushed today. Olivia gave me a thumbs up with her face still stuck into the road. If I could just pull her back and drag her up to the benches. But I doubt she's going to appreciate that.
I battled with another round of excited screams, even louder now, as I moved along the thickening crowd and into the benches a half block away. The band finally passed along the mob in their huge guitar-shaped float and was throwing t-shirts and TG merch all over the wild and ecstatic Cavaldean fans. The boys sent them kisses, smiles, winks and waves in exchange for the squeals and cries of the people, specially the women.
I took a deep breath and sat down. I'm really not much into social gatherings as I hate noisy places and I only have a few friends. At least they're real friends and not just some cool, back-stabbing dudes.
I saw how Olivia managed to fight with the other fans in grabbing the raining merch. This woman. She would really give everything just to get a TG shirt. I couldn't blame her. Music and parties define her life which is completely opposite to mine. Well, we really are as different as worlds. Maybe because we aren't real cousins. I was adopted. My mom found me in a train seat when I was a baby, abondoned by whoever soulless parent I've had. But that's a story for another time.
". . . he must be killed. . ."
". . . but you said you love me. You can't do this to me!"
"Two trays of green mocha flavored. . ."
"HAHAHA! I knew it!"
I suddenly crouched on my seat and closed my eyes. It's happening again! I held my head and covered my ears. I'm hearing random conversations in my head. Conversations I don't even know or understand. There were laughing, screaming, yelling and calling out names I don't even know who. I tried to stop them but they keep coming up. This time louder, fuller and kept repeating like a malfunctioned audio record.
"Please stop!" I groaned, kneeling on the pavement while holding my head and eyes tightly shut. But the voices kept coming. They wouldn't stop! "Stop! Please."
"Pete?" I heard footsteps running towards me. With my eyes still closed, I felt someone patting my back and touching my forehead. "Are you alright?"
The screams in my head disappeared. I opened my eyes and saw the black asphalt two inches from my nose. I felt cold and dizzy. Thankfully the voices in my head were finally gone. I was all alone in my head again.
"Pete, are you okay?" I raised half of my body and saw Olivia's face. She looked worried. "What's wrong?"
I did not answer and hurriedly got up from the floor and sat back to the bench, resting my back. I was breathing ruggedly and my body felt terribly cold. It happened again. These voices had been attacking my head for a long time. It all started when I turned 20 and I couldn't control it. And everytime it attacks it makes me feel weak and dizzy.
"Hey!" My cousin stared into my eyes with her face full of concern. "Are you sick?" she asked.
I shook my head. "Nah, I'm fine." I know I am not convincing anyone with that response but Olivia bought that. She believes everything and everyone.
"Okay, let me buy you a drink," she said. "You look tired."
She gave me a red T-shirt with a smiling face of Davin Grey, the vocalist of TG and she walked away towards a small lemonade shop right across the road. I stared at her as she walked towards the shop. The parade was no longer in sight and the crowd had followed it away. Only few more people remained in the area.
Olivia entered the green and yellow lemonade shop leaving me thinking of what happened earlier. I still felt dizzy like I was running around in circles for hours. I can't help but wonder what's causing the voices in my head. For two years the question remained unanswered and will likely remain so.
Olivia got out from the shop, holding two plastic cups of lemonade. A wide smile plastered on her face. Suddenly, a speeding bus that is clearly out of control was zigzagging towards the shop. Olivia was walking towards me without even noticing it.
My eyes widened. "Olivia!"
I would say that adrenaline caused it. I ran towards Olivia in an unbelievable speed that even I couldn't have imagined. I was able to grab her out of the away in a millisecond and we both stumbled into the asphalt just as the bus hit the front of the lemonade shop, shattering the glass walls and crushing people inside the establishment.
I held my cousin close to me and covered her with my arms as splinters showered us and screams filled the area. I scanned my eyes around. Olivia leaned out to see the place.
"Are you alright?" I asked her through rugged breathing.
She nodded, lips trembling with fear and shock. She stared at me, face deprived of blood. "Pete," she wobbled. "Y-you're bleeding."
I touched my forehead. Fresh red blood trickled down from it. I stared at the blood on my hands. Fresh, cold and bloody red.
My head ached and I felt extreme dizziness. I heard Olivia's faint calling as I drifted off into the darkness.
- Writer
