Francisca’s
Run
By G.
D. Talbot
Francisca can only see darkness and
then she hears her little sister screaming in the distance. As she focuses on
the screams they become louder until they fill and hurt her ears. She opens her
eyes as she sits up in bed and looks around her bedroom. The cross around her
neck swings gently back and forth.
Then she sees a shadow move through
her doorway and out of her room. At the same time she hears her sister scream
for help. She jumps to her feet wearing nothing but a t-shirt and chases after
the sounds of her sister, until she is outside. People are running in a panic
around her, all in the same direction. As she looks frantically around for her
sister, one of the people bumps her. She turns around to see that Guanabara Bay
is filled with a black fog and she cannot see the bottom of Sugarloaf Mountain.
She then notices that the black fog is moving fast towards her and as it
touches other people, they fall to the ground screaming in pain.
Francisca turns in panic and as she
does she sees her little sister being carried in the distance, in front of the
panicking horde of people.
Francisca screams, “Ana!”
Then
she starts running after her, she pushes and shoves people out of her way. She
tries to catch up and after a few turns she can’t see her sister anymore, and
is now just following her screams.
As pain
starts to cramp her feet and radiate up her legs, she can feel something wet on
the bottom of her toes. She stops and looks down to see that her feet are cut,
bruised, and bleeding. She looks around and sees a shop has shoes on a table.
She grabs the shoes and starts putting them on. She sees the shadow of the
shopkeeper move over her.
Francisca
pleads as she finishes putting on the shoes and as she looks up at the
shopkeeper. “I promise, I will return and pay you.”
Francesca’s
eyes grow wide as he sees that the shop owner is reaching out and crying. She
looks to see what he is reaching for and sees that a woman is completely
covered in the black fog, not moving or breathing. It’s then she notices that
the fog is encircling the shop owner, but not touching him. Then she watches as
the fog does the same to her.
As she
examines the fog by slowly moving her body towards it and watching it move away
from her, she hears Ana screaming in the distance again. She swings her arms
out to her sides, forcing the black fog to move completely away from her. Then
she begins running after the screams again.
This
time as she runs, she notices that other people are being devoured by the evil
fog, but not all. The sadness from those watching their love ones dying and
suffering is too much for her, and she starts to cry. Then the memory of Father
Lucas the day before enters her mind. She remembers him telling her to keep to
her faith. That she cannot save anyone but herself from evil.
As
Ana’s screams get louder, Francisca turns a corner and screams back, “I will
save her! I will protect her! She is only six!”
She
then sees a cricket bat lying on the side of a building. As she runs past it,
she grabs it, and continues on her way until she realizes that she is almost to
the base of Christ the Redeemer. She stops and looks behind her to see that Rio
is completely covered in a black cloud, and only the tip of Sugarloaf Mountain
can be seen. She turns back around and moves slowly closer to the statue. She
sees a black cloaked figure with long pointy fingers, holding Ana in one arm as
he slowly moves his free hand over her body. He suddenly pulls his hand up and
points his sharp looking fingers down at her.
Francisca
screams, “NO!”
Then
she runs at the cloaked figure, her cricket bat over her head. As she gets
close, the figure drops Ana and starts moving away from her. He floats and
glides with ease, and appears to have no legs under his cloak. Francisca doesn’t
slow down and continues swinging at him until she finally connects, hitting him
in the side. The cloaked figure grabs his side and then flies off the enclosed
area, and into the air disappearing into the sky.
Francisca
drops her bat and runs back to her sister. As she turns, her cross flips over
and onto her back. When she gets to Ana, she stands her up and starts holding
her.
“Are
you ok, Ana?” Francisca asks as she pulls away just enough to see Ana’s face.
Ana
only forces a smile out from behind her tears, as fear slowly dissipates from
her face.
Suddenly
a metallic ting sound fills the air from behind them, and Francisca can feel
something gently touching the cross on her back. She stands up straight and
turns around as her cross swings back to the front of her. She sees the cloaked
figure standing there, pointing one of his fingers at her. Then the cloaked
figure turns his hidden head to the side as he examines the cross around her
neck. Francisca pulls Ana behind her as she slowly steps back away from the
evil figure.
In a
raspy, low, heavy breathing voice, the cloaked figure says. “Father Lucas was
right. You can only save yourself, and no one else.
Francisca
makes her hands into fists as she screams angrily. “Really, let’s find out.”
As she
starts to run at the cloaked figure, the cloaked figure grows outward. As the
black fog reaches him, he becomes one with the fog, as Francisca hears Ana
screaming stop. Then everything becomes black around her and she is lost in the
darkness.
Francisca
wakes and sits up in bed. A loud voice starts to become clear and she can hear
Ana saying. “Stop sleeping, I’m hungry.”
Francisca
turns to the door in her room and sees Ana standing there impatiently tapping
her foot on the floor, her arms crossed over her chest, and staring angrily at
her. A beam of light comes from between the curtains on her window. Francisca
squint her eyes as the beam reflects light off of the cross around Ana’s neck.
Francisca
asks in a joking tone. “Is it time to make breakfast already?”
Ana
answers as her scowl turns to a smile. “Yes.”
Suddenly
the sound of people running by their home fills the room. They both turn to the
sounds as they hear people screaming. “The darkness is coming, the darkness is
coming!”
Francisca
and Ana look at each other as Francisca jumps from her bed and moves towards
Ana.
Francisca
says panicking, “RUN!”
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