Not Tomorrow

It was dark, cold and a little foggy. Not too much fog, but just enough.
Running through the forest with nothing but a flashlight and a vague remembrance of the land,
Where have you ended up, you poor soul?
What are you running from? Where are you running to? What happened? Who are you looking for?
What have you done? There’s so much blood. All you can feel is the pain. But what hurts?
Why can’t you remember anything? Are you even here anymore?

Late last night you went out. Just for a drive. I figured it would do us good. To nowhere, really. Just road. You must have had something to drink, because you had someone with you. You thought it looked like us. You wanted to drive, first mistake. Your second mistake was picking up a girl. We’d scoff but it was typical and frankly we got used to it. She didn’t even look like her.

You need to stop running, please stop. For us. We’re getting tired and it’s getting darker.
You can’t do this forever, You’re losing too much blood. You’re insane.
They’ll find you. They’d kill you if we weren’t here to save your sorry ass.
Stop running, you won’t find her here.

After you and her got married, you knew things would be hard. You knew that from the beginning, right? Ahh, at least she was beautiful. The long brown hair, the ocean deep blue eyes. The way she sloughed after a long day of work. Her eye shadow only accented her baggy eyes. The innocent smile she always had. She was always tired, wasn’t she? Yeah, she was.
You remember those times where she’d get remarkably slap happy when she was tired? You’d romp around, like we did when student loans weren’t a concern for anyone. She was a science wiz when she was younger, she was always a little smarter than us. We were on the honor roll a few times, but never enough for her. How did you find a girl like her to spark a light in you? Odd, really. All you ever did was lay around. But it wasn’t about that right? It was never about that. She made you happier. You made her what she wanted more than anything.

Why are you still running? The mud is only slowing you down. You’re running in circles. You passed that tree at least three times by now. Jesus, you’re bleeding everywhere. I don’t think that’s your blood anymore. What was that noise? Shadows crying your name, demanding revenge. What have you done? This wasn’t supposed to happen anymore. We fixed that.
Was this really worth it? Why can’t you ever do anything right? You fuck literally everything up.
For God's sake, stop running. It’s over. You lost. We’ve lost. You need to accept it. They’re gone.
You can’t bring them back. Not this way. It doesn’t matter anymore. You need to let go.
You had me.

You always had her. She was real little when money was a problem. It’s never easy. Letting go.
Why didn’t you even try to come home? You always “worked late”. I knew what was going on but I don’t think you did. You always thought they were after you. Every single fucking night. You always had an excuse. You promised you’d try, you fucking liar.
But hey, you always had her. She was about twelve inches long, eight pounds.
She was the apple of your eye. She made you stop drinking. Made you find a job. You found out after you proposed. You we’re the happiest. You made her something she’d always want.
It wasn’t easy, living with us. Those shadows were always after you. Until she was born. You named her Luna. Because you thought that the only thing more beautiful than her mother was the moon. She kept the shadows away. They both did, really. I had no role in that.

You wanted to drive away. You thought nothing mattered. You picked up drinking again. It’s been three years since it happened. You might as well have fun. I thought it would be good for us. For you. You found a sleepy little town. It was where you grew up. See? I told you that you should trust me more often. You found her, someone you found familiar. I don’t believe you’re doing this again. She isn’t here. Please, at least don’t do anything stupid.

She was happy, most of the time. She had that innocent smile she had when she was younger. She was happy. Most of the time. She had bought her first home with the man she loved, and a beautiful daughter.
She was happy. Sometimes.
Mommy just needs her time alone.
Daddy wasn’t home a lot, you didn’t know you had this many uncles.
The split wasn’t easy, we lost her. What was the point of the moon when you had no light?
You always feared this.


Whose blood is this? Not ours. I think.
The shadows are getting closer.

Closer.


Closer.


Closer.
Where’s that light coming from?
They’re howling into the air, they’re demanding our head.
Who is this? Who are you? Who are we? This looks like her old room. Why is everything so decrepit? Its unbearable. Its cold. our bones are frozen. Where are you running to?
Why are you still here?

School wasn’t always fun, it was better when she was there. You didn’t know her name. We did, but why would we tell? You won’t leave us again. No more would you run around and forget us.
You promised. But you met her anyway. She was beautiful. Gorgeous really. She had a certain hold over you. Why does she like me?
After you got through with your studies, you would take her around. It was a sleepy old town, not much to do. But you’d be damned if you couldn’t. You were so happy.
We went to the meadows with her, you would roll around and make such, awful noises.
I didn’t notice it, but she had the most charming smile.


You’re running, you’re bleeding and you’re lost. Nothing much has changed for you.
You’re so stupid. You had everything. You fucking loser. You can’t hold one stupid little promise for anyone, can’t you? Why are-. Shit, the shadows are getting closer. Hide you moron.
What is that radio saying?



“...the body was found today, near the green river. It was mutilated, we don’t know if it’s his or not. Bite marks made up most of the upper torso area. Don’t trust the water. It might have unwanted fluid in it…”

Quick, turn it off.


It was time for bed and you told her to turn off her toy.
You were trying to sleep and you had to wake up early to meet her. It was late.
You heard a noise.
You were dreaming, mostly.
She lost that smile of hers.


You see faces in the trees, you hear her voice and you hear her name. There is too much static.
Where did the shadows go? The frost was getting to you. You haven’t looked back in nearly a mile or so you thought.


All hope is lost.
We’re fucked.



You fucking did what? Why? Yeah, of course. You didn’t do anything, it was the shadows. You know what? I hate you. You are the worst. You never understood anything. What are you going to do? She was our only income. And you fucking decided it was a good idea to drop trou and do it right here? What would happen Luna saw this? You’d destroy her. I hope you're happy.


My head hurts. All I can hear is the static. All I feel is pain. Blood is everywhere and I don’t know where I am. The trees look like them. They have their bodies and they have their hearts.
They’re getting closer.



Closer.






C̗̺̤̰̠l͚̗̖̠͎o͔̞͢s̞͍̱̬̼̘͝e̬̲̦̖̗̫͡ͅr͇̗͇̭͎͔̺͟.





C̤͚̙̖͙̝̘l̴͇̙̠̣̗̩̀͞ó̖̘̫͜͞s̡̢̰̪̙̻͜é̤̥͡r̷̶̷̖̲͉




C̬͉͈͙͇̀͜l͏҉̡͙̯̯̻̳̰͖͖̖͔̣̱̤̖̱̹̫o͜҉̧̝̤̘̱͕͢s͢͠҉͏̸̰͚̤̥̩̤͙̖̥̱͚e͔̭̖̯̮̬̟̕͠ŕ̷̗̦̘͍̗̙͕̦̟̹̝͔̻͝͞











Where's that light coming from?


On her birthday you gave her a night on the town. You danced. You had a little to drink, You said it would be fine. I said it wouldn’t.
it wasn’t.
You said you loved her. You always would.

Where did Mommy go? I don’t know.

It was dark, it was impenetrable. You don’t remember anything. Neither do we.

Shadows.

Fuckin’ Shadows.



You can’t feel anything anymore. The trees are rotting. There are bodies hanging on them.
Why doesn’t Luna notice you? You’re dying. I can’t feel anything anymore.


The doctors told you that she died on impact. They said that after the car was taken out of the water they found her. What was the point of having a moon if the light was gone?
Why can’t you remember? She grieved and she wept. The melancholy was taking over. She found the shadows. She was found days later in the river. A gun was also on scene.


It’s about time you stopped running. I bet by now that they found her in the car. I should’ve known this would’ve ended poorly. You knew you can’t find her. But you tired, didn’t you?
Forgiveness is a powerful thing. It’s not what will happen, but hey, whatever.
You can beg and cry all you want. It won’t stop them.
They’ll tear you apart. And you deserve it. The whole thing. Her death wasn’t your fault. The moon will always be there. You’ll find away. We always will.
I still love you. They loved you. You need to let go. Join them.



“......At 7:45 this morning, the body of a man was found in near a popular hiking spot. He was in his mid 30s, and he was found holding a picture of what we can presume to be his wife and daughter. It looked like he was attacked by an animal, as portions of his upper torso were missing….”