This choice: She steps on and over the crowd • Go Back...Chapter #4Merciless Queen by: Icarus   (Warning: I have never attempted to write anything gorey before, but this chapter does contain my attempt at writing that. So if gore of any kind is not your thing, maybe go read a different chapter instead)
Some of you were too scared to move.
Everyone is familiar with the phrase fight or flight. Meaning when faced with a threat, do you face it down or try to outrun it. But there is a lesser known third F.
Freeze.
Despite the phrase "Fight or flight" being so common, you'd be surprised at how many people actually fell under Freeze. It's a lot.
Out of all twelve of you, five of you were frozen in your tracks. Yourself included.
Your heart never pounded harder in your entire life as it did right now, as Niamh's massive boots pounded into the ground, sending tremors you felt in your very bones rattle your whole being. One would think it should be easy to see the pattern of her stride and predict exactly where her meteoric footfalls would land. But you're dealing with life an a whole new scale, and it's just impossible.
Your life really does flash before your eyes before it's ready to go. A flash is exactly what it is. When you hear that term, you think you'll see everything on fast forward really quickly. But in reality, it was a series of images, some people you cared about, some people you hated, your favorite video game, last Tuesday when you had spaghetti for dinner. It was just a quick series of images that passed by so fast you're not sure if it really happened. But the last one was Niamh's face, from an angle below you, since you're usually taller than her.
You see the dusty, ridged sole rise into the air and eclipse the sky. It's the most terrifying thing you've ever seen. Your life is over, and in the peak moment of terror you are simultaneously filled with a fear like no other that left you without the ability to scream, as well as the calm that washes over your very soul, knowing there's nothing you can do to change this moment.
And then it's over. The front of her sole is behind you. Her heel is in front of you. You were caught in the raised instep of her platform boot. Your life was spared. Your extremities go numb, as your brain has given up on trying to fully process the wave of physical signals your body has been launching its way.
You didn't even realize, but you had turned around to watch Niamh keep walking. You are numb to feeling for the moment, overwhelmed by your own cocktail of emotions exploding inside you. The numbness comes in handy.
Briana was frozen, like you. You see the exact moment the terror solidified in her eyes. The image of where she was standing was replaced with Niamh's platform boot. You heard a terrible sound, like a water balloon from the inside exploding from too much pressure, coupled with the sound of someone breaking an entire bundle of sticks in half at once.
It felt like an eternity passed between when you heard that sound and your brain processed what exactly it was. You only glanced at the spot where Briana stood for a split second. There was a lumpy pile of flesh there, surrounded by a massive pool of blood.
Niamh's footsteps did not falter or change pace in the slightest. She didn't even notice what she had done. She didn't have a clue that her following footsteps were leaving a red splotch on the tile with every placement of her right foot.
Freezing in the face of danger is not what killed Briana. Besides Niamh's boot, what actually killed Briana was the cruelty of fate, or the randomness and lack of caring of reality.
John ran, after all. John did not freeze like Briana, he fled. He saw the horror that was Briana's fate. He saw Niamh's approaching feet. He was already running, so he tried to get out of the way.
John's problem was not miscalculation. He successfully maneuvered himself out of the path of the boot that crushed Briana.
John's problem was distraction. He was so drawn to the liquefied remains of Briana stuck to the bottom of Niamh's boot, that while he successfully ran out of the path that that foot traveled, he had almost completely ignored the other one. From your perspective, it almost looked as if he tried to run underneath her left foot.
Needless to say, John fared no better against the careless saunter of the school's queen bee.
You remembered your life flashing before your eyes. What you do not remember is the moments between seeing John disappear and sitting on your hands and knees with a pool of your own vomit underneath you.
You were distracted from your pool of sick as the now-distant rhythmic footfalls stopped. You looked up and saw Niamh turn around and look down the hall in your general direction.
That's when the rest of your hearing kicked back in. Several of your other shrunken classmates were screaming and crying in absolute terror. You don't blame them. But you think it got Niamh's attention.
You watched her eyes focus on the two dark pools of blood, and then follow the splotchy trail that led to her. You could see her face wrinkle in confusion as she lifted her foot, grabbing it with her hand to get a better look at the underside.
"Gross," was all she had to say. She put her foot back down and started to look at the rest of you. You could barely make out her whispering, "What the fuck?"
She began to come back this way. It was like before, the thunderous tremors caused by her footsteps increasing as she drew near. She reached down and grabbed Sean up off the floor. He was somewhat far away, but you could still see the tears streaking down his face and his terrified expression as Niamh's delicate, pale fingers wrapped around his body and lifted him into the sky.
Niamh looked him over, and you saw her facial expression change. She was clearly still somewhat confused, but now she knew a bit more about what was going on here. She looked back at all of you, and made her way towards her next nearest classmate.
As she crouched down to snatch up David, the rest of you had begun to flee. Even those of you who were formerly frozen. You all ran in the opposite direction, hoping to hide or escape Niamh by any means necessary.
Currently, you, Sean, Vanessa, Will, Rob, Jennifer, Laura, Eric, Tiffany, and David are still alive.
Niamh has captured Sean and David.
The rest of you are running away.
Who escapes?
1. All of you escape. Niamh only manages to capture Sean and David, the rest of you found somewhere to hide. Once Niamh leaves, you re-gather to discuss what happened.
2. Several of you escape, but Niamh captures many of you. Whether you're among the captured or the escaped is up to you.
3. None of you escape. Niamh's stride is too big for you, she has an easy time catching up to and capturing each and every last one of you. You're all in her hands, now.  indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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