Will You Believe Me?

Summary:

What would happen if you suddenly found yourself alone in a completely new city running for your life without even knowing why you are? Jezka can’t remember half the things that happened that night but she does know one thing: Her best friend’s still out there and she can’t give up…

Chapter One
She doesn't Speak...

The sun was setting, leaving a hazy red glow above the rocky mountains, the sky a light blue, fading fast into a midnight cast. Somewhere just out of the road’s view hidden among knee high grass and overgrown shrugs, bits of deep, vibrant colors showed just barely above the neutral tones surrounding them. Thick crimson liquid began to stick, and dry against the dry, rough gravel that covered a small opening in the barren plain. It wasn't expected that she'd hold on for as long as she was. Her eyes were wide open, not blinking or flickering. Not a singe sign that she was still alive. Her body froze from the rest of time. Seconds dragged on for what seemed like forever. Hours had gone by and she hadn’t moved once. Flies buzzed over head, eager to feed from the decaying wounds near the back of her head and across her wrists. To any stranger, it'd look as though she'd tried to kill herself. Slicing her wrists, and then plunging to her death from atop of the mountain, a near 200 foot fall. Enough to kill.
But she hadn't jump, she didn't fall either...She'd never been on top of the mountain, let alone anywhere near here before. Her surroundings were far from familiar. Different at the least...Dry, warm climate, barren of life. Where she had come from was a place where winter lasted nearly every day. Freezing climates, snow and bitter ice. She hadn't always lived in such a harsh place, but it'd been so long since she'd been truly home, it was hard to remember.
A light glow replaced the sunset. It was nearly pastel against the midnight blue sky. It wasn't a natural glow, it was luminescent. Unnatural. A small piece of hope arose from deep within the depths of her soul. She clung tighter to the last bits of life she had left.
A shadow appeared in the distance, blocking the glow, in the form of a person. She couldn't make out his facial features and her vision was blurring more each second. A flash of light shinned down in her general direction, taking what little sight she had left from her. It was followed by a distant shout. She couldn't really make out much of the person’s words, but she did catch hints that it was directed to her. She blinked, blurring her vision more against the light. Suddenly it disappeared. She shut her eyes and let her tense body still further against the earth.

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Two Weeks Later

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"Now, dear, do you remember anything? Anything at all?"
An elder lady sat at a steel table, across from a young girl. The girl looked dumbfound and remained silent through the woman's questioning. They’d been at this for over an hour now. It wasn't the first time, but the girl couldn’t help but wish it'd be the last. Her fragile pale hand trembled as she reached up and pushed her thick blonde hair away from her eyes. It'd grown wildly within the last few months she'd been away from home. Well, she assumed it had been months, but to be perfectly honest, she wasn't entirely sure. Her memories were scattered and scarce, like someone had blanked out certain parts. The older woman slid a tablet of yellow lined paper, with a blue ballpoint pen towards the girl.
"If you can't speak, can I trust you with a pen?"
She exhaled and looked down at the paper. Its edges were wearing at the corners and the top sheet curled up a bit at its lower left corner. Her hand ran across its semi smooth surface, attempting to flatten it.
The elder woman, who she'd learned went by the ally, Miss Petes. Though it wasn't her real name, it suited her, for strange reasons. It just seemed to go with the woman's personality. From her perfectly trimmed golden, v-lined hair, to her French-tipped nails. The younger girl stared at Miss Petes awkwardly before picking up the pen. She twisted it in her fingers examining its transparent blue outer shell. The thick, neon orange bracelet they'd forced her to wear, hung loosely on her slim, frail wrist. It barely stayed on, as she titled her hand with the pen to let it touch the paper.
Her eyes flickered to the faint, still scaring tissue on her wrists. They were thick lines, cut perfectly straight with precision, something her klutz hands couldn't succeed. Though the people around, could seem to believe that. That's why she had gone mute. They’d accused her of horrible things. She didn't want to die, nor had she ever. In fact every second was a fight to stay alive. It was like an exe was above her head, threatening her every moment. She wasn't sure why, but it felt like she shouldn't of been alive, like someone wanted her dead.
The night they'd found her was a faint memory, but a nightmarish one. She wasn't sure she wanted to remember it. Her hand sloppily wrote out a few stray letters. J.E.Z.K.A. Miss Petes glanced over, watching her every move.
"Jezka."
The older woman read aloud.
"Is that your name? Jezka?"
She asked. The girl nodded. Miss Petes smiled warmly.
"That's good Jezka! That's wonderful!"
The woman was suddenly full of enthusiasm, for reasons Jezka couldn't comprehend. 'Yeah I have a name, big deal, so does every other freaking person in this freaking world!' she thought enraged at the woman's stupidity.
"Jezka?"
Miss Petes started. Jezka raised an eyebrow at her.
"Do you know who your parents are?"
Jezka pursed her lips and tried to remember whether she even had parents. If she did, it was from the time before, when she'd been home. But the only person she remembers from then, was the only person that truly mattered: Amber. Snippets of nightmarish scenes flashed through her at the remembrance of her best friend’s name. A sharp pain shot through her and she clung to the sides of her head, slumping forward, with strain to stay conscious.
"Don't force yourself Jezka! It's okay calm down!"
Suddenly strong arms, much too thick to below to the hollowly Miss Petes wrapped around Jezka’s shoulders, forcing her to still. Something snapped in her thoughts and she began to squirm against their grip, wildly like a fish out of water.
"Let go!"
She screeched at the top of her lungs.
"I didn't do anything wrong!"
Her voice was shallow and harsh from not speaking much and was barely above a normal person's indoor voice. Before long she silenced again and became limp. She found herself restrained yet again in a padded room, like she was going mad. She rested against the hard mattress’s flat even surface. It was useless now; all she could do was wait it out until her next meeting with Miss Petes. But there wasn't going to be any more visits...

That night she dreamt of a splendid ball room filled with masked persons of every shape and size. She was in the center of it all, without a mark. People began to stop and stare at her plain dark washed jeans, that were torn at the bottoms, her bare feet. Her grey tank top was so ordinary to their extravagant bright red gowns, and midnight black tuxedoes. She instinctively covered herself, hugging her thin, hollow arms around her slender frame. Never had Jezka ever wanted to be invisible more. She wished over and over that she could disappear....and she did.
The dream changed and morphed into the scene below the mountain, where she'd nearly died. How those two events were connected she couldn't figure out, but the strange feeling that they were didn't go away. It was a pit stomach, turning feeling. Deep and lingering.
By the time she was able to shake the dream she was sweating and trembling.
Jezka has had this dream several times, again and again, though each time a little more of the night’s events would revel itself. She never knew which parts really happened, if any at all.
It was an ominous overhanging threat that kept her on the edge, always fearful of sleep. Each time she dreamt she got closer and closer to wishing she would remember.

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One Week Later

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Jezka tapped nervously against the bus’s wall interior. Creating a annoying clicking sound. She counted backwards from a thousand wishing she wasn’t in this situation. They were taking her to a group home. Since she hadn’t been able to remember her parents’ names and the growing lack of space at the mental ward, they really had no choice but to attempt to wing Jezka back into a normal living habit. As if that was possible. She thought sarcastically. She didn’t want to live near other people, not because she was anti-social or fearful of them, but rather she was fearful for them. She didn’t want anymore people being effected by the curse that followed her. God forbid they get hurt because she ‘slipped’ up.
She couldn’t even trust her own thoughts, they could be listening…Or perhaps she was being overly paranoid. There was never any proof that anyone had been able to read her mind, but the time she’s been with them it had certainly felt like they’d known too much. Things she hadn’t shared with anyone…
She sighed and slumped down into the soft, leather seat. It was a comfort she took oh so granted. Her body was at peace but her mind was racing, like clockwork. Right on time without missing a beat or stopping to breathe.
She was one of about ten girls ridding in the large, grey-steel bus. As far as Jezka guessed they were all going separate places. No one bothered to speak or sit amongst each for that reason solely. No one wanted to grow attached to a friendly face knowing, come the time of the next stop and beyond they’d never see it again.
Friendship was something meant to last, not to be given away to strangers whom you’d never be able to equate them as a friend again.
That seemed to be how the life of foster children worked. Whether their parents had died, given them away or lost them. This was how the girls had to live now. Resulted of their parents, not of them.
Jezka knew she didn’t belong among them. Deep down she knew she had parents somewhere out there. She wouldn’t always be alone in this world. She knew that.
Giving up hope would result in giving in to a life like this. Feelings of shame and loneliness.
Jezka peered around the bus. Glancing face to face finally meeting one that had been staring back. Her dark black hair framed her face, messily. She wore deep dark make-up that contrasted with her abnormally pale skin. She was hollowly thin, styling a baggy black jacket with vibrant red letters and a worn, swirl skirt that matched her leggings, reaching just above her scrapped combat boots.
The bus came to a screeching stop and the girl stood up. Jezka turned away, expecting the girl to take her leave to the awaiting care-givers at the bus’s doors. But when the bus began to move again, she sensed someone’s hot breath near her shoulder. She turned to see the girl dressed in all black, accompanying her seat.
Normally this would upset Jezka that the girl hadn’t asked to sit with her, but the company felt nice. Something she didn’t want to give away neither embrace due to fear that the girl would suddenly vanish.
The girl didn’t look towards Jezka as she spoke.
“Hey. I’m…Aura. Got a name?”
She asked in a rough, low voice. Jezka pursed her lips and inhaled.
“Jezka.”
She answered.
Aura gave her a half smile.
“You’ve got big boobs.”
Aura suddenly blurted. Jezka blushed and reached for her jacket that sat on the bus’s floor. No one had ever made such a vulgar comment…nor such a random one.
She covered her front half stupidly and ineffectively.
“Chill out, I’m not staring or anything. I just find it odd that someone as thin as yourself would be blessed which such big boobs…”
Jezka’s face was glowing bright red now. She turned from Aura and stared out the open window.
Beyond the speeding traffic several, clone houses stood in perfect order, perfectly spaced and perfectly indicial. They lacked uniqueness and culture. There weren’t stories behind each like normal houses. Hell the people within their dwellings were no different. Paper-cutouts of magazine cover ideal families.
“So how may have you been to?”
Aura blurted. Jezka looked towards her through the corner of her eye debating whether she wanted to speak to this girl next to her. Her curiosity got the better of her though.
“What do you mean?”
She asked in a monotone voice.
“Foster homes, group homes, physic wards. You name it…”
Aura responded. Jezka shut her eyes for a few seconds before answering.
“This is…The first time…I think.”
Aura rose one neatly curved eyebrow.
“I don’t really remember much past the last three weeks…”
She admitted truthfully.
“Uhh. What happened.”
Jezka twirled her thumbs wondering what to say. Would this complete stranger believe her, would she be safe if she knew even this small detail? She narrowed her eyes and decided to put on a good show.
“Ha ha. I stupidly slit my wrists and fell of a cliff afterward.”
Aura laughed a little.
“Dude you have to show me the scars!”
She exclaimed. Jezka bit her lip and nervously unwound her tightly clamped hands. Aura eyed her two thick slit marks before rolling her eyes.
“You cut too low down. If you would of went a little higher…To right where this group of veins connect, you would have had more success.”
She roughly grabbed Jezka’s wrist and pointed to the area she’d described. Aura then rolled her sleeves up to revel lines of white and pink scars trailing up her arms.
“I should know, I’ve tried enough times.”
Jezka forced herself to keep eye contact with Aura, but it was growing harder by the second.
This was someone completely different than her. Someone she wasn’t sure she wanted to be friends with…
The bus came to another stop. The sign read 182 in fading white letters across a bright blue background.
The bus driver called out two names.
“Aura Jameson ID 120976 and…Jezka No last name ID 130013. This is your stop.”
Jezka followed along reading her number from an index card as the driver read them aloud.
Was it fate they’d been placed in the same group home?
“Damn that was lucky…Well hun it looks like you’ll be stuck with me after all.”
Aura pulled Jezka to her feet before retrieving her bag from the compartment above the seats. Jezka followed her lead still stunned.
As they made there way off the bus, the few remaining girls shot them looks. Jezka sighed. What was the next step from this point?