Running

When you start running you can’t stop. The feeling of the wind against your face and the view constantly changing is the best in the world. But, some people don’t run for fun, they run from their problems. Their past that's constantly coming to haunt them. Now, this isn’t a story about a girl who ran away from home because she seemed to like it. It’s a girl that was forced to leave her home, her memories, her loved ones, and her life.

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 Nikki had a pleasant life. She would always go to school with her best friend Zyra and would meet her boyfriend there. Her life was perfect, she always had good grades and was fairly known throughout the school. She was in multi-curricular clubs and was in the orchestra. Her touch was beautiful when played on the cello and she had won many awards with her mesmerizing talent. Nikki would always make sure she never messed up. Because, she knew that if one little mistake would occur, her life could drastically change like that. Now poor Nikki was so caught up in not making so many mistakes that she made an unforgivable one.

Everyone had secrets. They were all around us and they would take us over. Nikki had tried so hard to never have secrets, but her battle with secrets had led her to failure. 

Every single night Nikki would go to an abandoned house, take all of her hidden pain and dissolve it with drugs. Nikki seemed that drugs were the only ones that could take her pain away. She had tried everything, but when she needed someone the most to help her with the pain no one would come. Not even her parents. They were all too busy with her older sister. Always pointing out her flaws and trying to make her better. They would toss Nikki around and would never acknowledge her. So, Nikki would turn to drugs.

Adrenaline in her veins would make her feel loved and would make her feel alive. Truly alive. 

One night, Nikki came home from school. She was already having a shitty day, but like always no one would ask her. Nikki opened the rusty door and came home to her parents talking to each other. She slumped her backpack on the barstool and sat down to do her homework.

“I don’t know what we’re going to do with her. A 70 on her math test is just unacceptable.” Nikki heard her mother talking to her father. Were they going to get her sister a tutor? 

“How are the other one’s grades?”

“Good as always, but this is not the time to talk about her.” her mother whispered. Nikki’s mind went blank. She could feel the tears emerging from her eyes and she needed it. Right now.

“I’m heading out.” She tried to hold back her tears. 

Once she slammed the door, Nikki saw that it was pitch black outside. The sun had disappeared and the moon was now shining its bright mysterious light onto the surfaces of the Earth. 

Nikki got in her car and drove around. She didn’t go directly to the warehouse and tried to shake off her anger. She sped outside of the city. The streets outside of the city were always empty and were perfect to let off some steam. The warehouse was also located outside the city. Dark green forests sped past Nikki and loud music was blasted in her car. Nikki’s grip on the wheel was tough and her head was going dizzy. Her windows were open and the feeling of the wind felt so powerful. Powerful enough to crush the entire world in her hands. Her hair was flying around like snakes supporting her. Nikki had reached the warehouse and ran in. She saw a new seller. They would always rotate.

“Give me some purple.”

The man chuckled.

“Little girl, I don’t know what you're doing here. Out.”

Nikki’s anger had reached the limits that day and she wouldn’t let some petty guy stop her from her escape. She pushed the tables away and gained some strength. The guy had stepped back, but Nikki had already had enough. She punched him and a couple of his teeth fell. Nikki took the money in her pocket and pinned the seller to the wall.

“Take my money. And give it.”

The seller’s face had started trembling and so did his hands. “Take it, take it. Please let me go.”

That’s what Nikki wanted to hear. She pushed him out of her hands and neatly placed the money on the table. The seller ran to the storage boxes and handed her two small packets of purple powder. 

Nikki walked out leaving her mark on the seller. Her boots smacked the floor every time she walked out and went to her car. Nikki carefully opened the packet and closed her eyes. She pressed her nose and opened her mouth. The taste of the powder was sour but she didn’t care. In three minutes she had devoured it all. Nikki would usually get the orange powder, but the purple was stronger. She had never had it before and she knew it would kick in after a few minutes. 

Nikki had driven into the city and she could feel the effects of the powder. She started feeling hot and rolled down her windows. Nikki stopped drying and parked in a parking lot. 

Taking deep breaths Nikki checked her hands. They were both trembling. Suddenly she felt excruciating burns. All through her back. She screamed like she absorbed all the power in the world. Nikki’s head started going dizzy and she laughed. Laughed through all the pain she experienced and how everyone thought her life was perfect. Her parents didn’t love her. All the attention would go to her dumb older sister. That was the problem. Her older sister. She was always taking the attention and she always got the better things. If she wasn’t alive then Nikki could be happy. Happy. That’s all that passed Nikki’s mind. The disappearance of her sister.

Nikki wanted to feel victory on her hands. If that meant the blood of her sister then so be it. All the disappointment and anger had led Nikki to drive home. The streets were empty so she didn’t have to worry about the police. Nikki was in no state to drive but she was convinced that all the problems she faced and all the pain that she had were caused by her sister.

Nikki just wanted to live freely and wanted to have everyone at her feet. Everyone pleading to her and begging for her love and loyalty. And she wanted to see her sister burn in hell. Burn in hell for every minute that she caused pain. Nikki wanted to hear her sister's screams and she wanted to see her blood everywhere. She wanted to see her sister's pain and her begging for mercy. Begging to keep her alive and begging her to stop. 

Nikki arrived at her home and went straight to the kitchen. To all the knives in the drawer. She could hear the TV playing and she could hear her sister's laughs. Soon, those laughs would be replaced with screams. Nikki had found the sharpest knife and could see blood on the knife. But, the knife wouldn’t be enough. With the knife, her sister would ultimately die. Nikki needed to make her point. Suddenly, she realized that her father had a gun for protection. She ran to the garage and rummaged through the cupboards for the gun. 

Nikki had expected her parents to come in and see what she was doing but they didn't care a bit. Once she had gotten her weapons Nikki came into the living room. She was stumbling around but she closed the TV.

“Nikki, what do you think you're doing?” her father had asked.

All he got in return was a smile. Nikki had already loaded the gun and saw that her sister had stood up. 

“Hey, what are you doing with those?” her sister asked.

Oh, Nikki hated her presence and her long blonde hair. Her sister had the good genes and she had everyone spinning around her finger. That drove Nikki crazy. She put up the gun directly to her sister's leg and shot her. With one click, her sister was screaming in agony. Blood was squirming out and her parents had hurried to her.

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?” her father screamed.

Nikki’s mother started crying. It was time to speak.

“You,” Nikki pointed the knife at her sister, “Have ruined my life. It’s always Zaria, Zaria, Zaria, in this house. All you ever do is worry about her. You never even acknowledge me, ever ask me about my grades or how I’m feeling. And you little rascal. I know what you did with my boyfriend.” Zaria’s face went into regret. “You little manipulative-,” Nikki stopped. She wanted to kill her. Right now. 

Nikki walked right up to Zaria’s face. Their mother and father had stumbled away from Nikki due to fear.

“You will now hurt. Just like I did.” Nikki dropped the gun and took the knife and stabbed Zaria in the heart. She turned the knife around and around seeing the blood squirm out. Nikki was enjoying this moment, but she didn't know two things. One, that the purple powder that she consumed would be disposed of quickly. That meant that Nikki would come to her senses instantly. Second, Nikki’s anger wasn’t led by her sister, it was led by the drugs. Zaria screamed and so did her parents. And just like that, Zaria was dead laying on the floor. The blood-stained the carpet and there was blood everywhere. 

Nikki was laughing but then started rapidly blinking. The purple powder was disposed of. Nikki came back into her senses and screamed. She didn’t know what happened and saw Zaria’s body on the floor. Nikki observed her hands and saw blood all over her hands. She stumbled back, astonished by what she did. Tears were now streaming down her face and Nikki was disgusted with herself. She looked up to her parents and they were crying. She had killed their daughter, their life. Nikki had killed her sister. She still couldn’t process what she did. She needed to get out of the house right now. She ran out the back door and ran. Nikki didn’t know where she was going or why she was running but it was her immediate response. Nikki didn’t know if she was running from fear or realization. Nikki ran far away from her home and life. She didn’t look back once. 

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Nikki never came back to her life after that. She had gotten a new identity and every night she would cry herself to sleep. Nikki lived by herself and barely made any money. She never had drugs after that and she would live in regret every single day. 15 years after the incident Nikki sat down to see the news. She saw the news channel and turned the volume up. Something had fallen and she went to pick it up. When she looked back at the TV she saw her sister, Zaria. Zaria was a successful businesswoman and was talking in the news. Nikki’s mind went insane and she ran outside for some fresh air. She didn’t know if she was going to jail or if this was all her imagination. She decided to take deep breaths and finish watching the news. Maybe the woman on the TV wasn't Zaria. Nikki turned around and couldn't process what she was seeing. It was Zaria standing in front of her with a grim smile on her face.