Grey: A Life Unraveled (Tapestry of Life Book 1)

by Lee Miller

  Sara lay awake that night in bed. For the first time in a long time she was in it by herself. She hadn’t realized just how much she had come to rely on Beth, how much of the girl’s presence lit up the place, lit up her own life. If the death came for her, she wanted to be awake to see it coming. Somewhere in the early morning hours, she figured she was safe and drifted off to sleep. She dreamed. She dreamed of open fields of grass that stretched across the plains of her mom’s home state. She dreamed of the deep forest of Tennessee. She dreamed of the golden coast of California and its sun-splashed beaches. She dreamed of the blue grass of Kentucky as the horses grazed. She dreamed of the wheat fields of Kansas blowing in the pre-storm afternoon breeze. She dreamed of bustling LA traffic, of the lit up Las Vegas nights. She dreamed of the mighty Colorado as it flowed past the quiet desert town of Page, Arizona on its way to the Gulf of California. She dreamed of her mom hanging clothes out on the line in the late morning summer sun of her childhood. She dreamed of her dad, before alcohol had turned him into a walking corpse that Dr. Morgan told her about. Her dad traversed from white, into gray then into black. She dreamed of the laughs she had shared with Beth on their many outings. She dreamed of the wedding that she was supposed to take part in last June, which never happened. Thanks to her Fiancé doing what he did last year. She dreamed of the many days right after that night that Jackie stayed with her, consoling her, helping her. There were days were she couldn’t even function, but Jackie wouldn’t let her just curl into a ball and cry. She dreamed of the smiling faces of all she knew, the many faces of her life that have come and gone and some have come back. She dreamed of her days at university. Studying, cramming for finals while making time to go on a date with Chris or just hang out with Beth. She dreamed of Chris. The first time he held her hand. The first time she saw him in the school library. The first kiss. The first time she gave herself to him. Sara woke up crying. Tears soaked her cheek and stained her pillow. She remembered her dream all too vividly and fought to make sure it didn’t disappear from her memory. She could still see Chris’s face in the candlelight the first night she made love to him. She didn’t want to let that image go. She didn’t want to forget. She needed all the fuel she could get to help her fight what was to come.

  Over the next few weeks, Sara immersed herself in studying. She researched weather phenomena, lost cities, missing civilizations, anything that could help her figure out what was happening to her own city. She even began researching strange creatures such as the Chupacabra of Mexico, the Mothman of Point Pleasant, West Virginia, Champ in Lake Champlain, Vampires, Werewolves and sightings of other fantastical creatures. She dove into research detailing the missing citizens of cities or sometimes, whole civilizations. Like Ashley, Kansas, The Mayas, The Harappan Civilization, Easter Island, Roanoke Settlement among many others. Each search led to more questions than answers. She took to reading works of fiction to try and gain some insight into what was going on, nothing came close to explaining what she was faced with. Still, day and night she searched for some kind of answers, most importantly, how to stop what was happening. She found in most cases of Cities or civilizations disappearing, there were often no clues, no reference points and the fact that scared her the most, no known survivors or witnesses to what happen. She was determined that this would not be the fate of her city. The outside world beyond the veil of fog and cloud must realize something was going on here; surely people were working on this problem outside of the affected area. “Unless this strange fog reached around the globe, but how likely would that be?” Sara thought to herself after one impressively aggravating search led to nothing. There had been no morning papers delivered and all the TV stations seemed to have gone off the air. She searched for news or any kind of answers on the Internet, yet she saw nothing that the outside world may be alerted to a problem going on here. She wasn’t going to be disheartened by that. Her search was limited and the connection was slow as hell. She gave up on trying to find answers there. She had made plans to venture out to the library; it was still free of the shroud of mist and was only a couple blocks away. She would set out at first light and spend the day searching and if necessary, she would stay the night there as well. She was going to find answers, one way or another. “Hopefully the library will have better internet service.” Sara thought to herself as she was preparing dinner. Suddenly a thought occurred to her. “There must be something outside the fog bank. Civilization, life, something. The internet still works.” She quickly dismissed that, the only thing this fog seems to effect is organic material. Such as people, dogs, cats, anything carbon based or has flesh. She remembered that the streetlights still worked even in the foggy areas of town; they were just really dim due to the density of the moisture. “So electrical components still work. Great.” She had placed all of her nebulous hopes on finding answers in the library. She put in a movie while she eat dinner, if for no other reason, that to hopefully feel something as close to normal as she could. She glanced out the massive window wall and saw the storm that had lashed at the city earlier in the day had settled into a nice slow snowfall. “Ugh, but it’s cold out there. So far the power has stayed on. That’s a bonus.” She said to herself. She had taken to being grateful for things instead of giving into the sober notion she maybe all that’s left alive in this city. She had ventured out a few times over the past few weeks since Beth died and there was absolutely no one left on the streets. Nobody guarding the doors to the apartment building, no traffic, no cabs running, no police cars, nothing. Still, even with all the insanity going around her, she took time to be thankful for the things she still had. Food, hot water and electricity. Yet she didn’t know how much longer any of those three would last. She climbed into bed that night feeling that this was going to have to end, and soon. This couldn’t continue on much longer. Either she would find a way to escape this hellish nightmare, or she and the city would be wiped out for good. She closed her eyes and drifted off to dreamland with the resolve she wouldn’t go down without a fight.

  December 31st

  Sara awoke the next morning with two startling revelations. The first being that today was the one year anniversary of Chris’s death and in about twelve hours it would be down to the minute. The second being that the view out of her bedroom window scared the crap out of her, a light fog had moved in overnight. By her calculations, the entire city was now covered. The fog outside her window was harmless, ordinary fog, but coupled with the malicious fog not far away, it wasn’t too large of a leap to think the time was drawing closer to when this fight would come to an end. She had to hurry. She had already slept later than she intended. She quickly got out of bed and realized that the cold air had permeated the room, possibly the apartment. Another unwelcome thing to have woken up to. “Did the electric go out?” she wondered. She reached for the light beside her bed, it clicked on. So the electric was still on, then what was wrong with the heat? She made her way down to the thermostat in the living room, sure enough, it was cold there too. She checked and it was set on 68 degrees, right where she had left it last night. She went to the nearest floor vent and was shocked to realize that it was blowing warm air into the room. The heat pump just couldn’t keep up with the demand. She raced back upstairs and jumped in the shower, at least she still had hot water, but the cold was even dampening that. She got out and dried off as quickly as she could, before hypothermia set in. She dressed herself in an all-black outfit. No matter what else was going on, she wanted to pay homage to the day and the anniversary.

  Sara ate breakfast, grabbed her coat and was out the door. She had stopped locking it since there was no need when you were alone in the world. Taking the elevator down to the lobby level, she was a bit startled at how eerie it was. Her heels making the only sound in the room as she walked across the marble floor. As she walked through the doors, she was hit with a cold breeze that almost took her breath away. After a few seconds the breeze stopped and the air was still and silent. She made her way towards t
he library; it was two and a half blocks away. As she walked, she daydreamed about the early days. They friends she had in elementary school, high school. The day she met Beth on their first day at OU. When she met Chris. She was so caught up in her thoughts she almost ran right into the two little girls standing in her way. Sara came to a quick stop to avoid colliding into them. They were right outside the library and across the street from a city park. Sara looked at the two young ones in her path. They looked strangely familiar to her. One was shorter than the other and had blond hair, blue eyes and a little round face. The other was taller, and a bit thinner than the littlest one. She seemed to be almost ready for her teen years. She had light brown wavy hair and chocolate colored eyes. Sara inhaled sharply once full recognition sat in. She knew these two. They looked like Shelby and Samantha Miller. Two girls she went to elementary school with. Shelby was the older of the two and a grade ahead of Sara. Samantha was a couple years younger and two grades below Sara. She realized that the young girls in front of her recognized her too, even though she was considerably older than they were and her appearance had changed a bit since she was their age. “Hi Sara. What are you doing?” It was Shelby, her voice almost singing. “Hello Shelby, Sam.” Sara still couldn’t quiet grasp what was going on. “Wanna go play?” Samantha asked in the same singing voice her sister used. “Play? Where? Sara asked, almost forgetting the reason she was here. She was driven with a desire to spend time with her two best friends from elementary school. “We’re gonna go play in the park.” Shelby said, “Before it all fades away.” Samantha finished, her voice lower and more foreboding. Before Sara could answer, both girls turned and ran across the street, into the fog, to the playground. Sara could hear them over there, laughing and giggling. Sara stood in the same spot where they two girls had left her, she found herself slowly starting across the street to join them when movement from her right caught her attention. She stopped in her tracks and wheeled around to see Jessica and Sarah Shields, the two girls who would best be defined as her best friends in high school. Much like Shelby and Samantha, Jessica was a year and grade older than Sara, as Sarah was two years and two grades lower than Sara. “what… what are?” both young ladies just stood their smiling at Sara. “Going to the park to play are you?” Jessica asked, her voice almost threatening. “I don’t know. I came here to do something, but I can’t remember what.” Sara was lost and a little confused. She looked at the two girls as if pleading for help. She could still hear Shelby and Samantha in the playground, it sounded as if they were chasing each other around. Her pull to go to the playground became the only thing that mattered. The rest of the world slid away as she turned and focused on the entrance. “Work before play Sara.” Came Sarah’s soft voice from behind her. Sarah had been very instrumental in school in helping Sara stay on track and stay focused. When her classmates wanted to go and party, Sarah was the voice of reason. She listened to her then, she had a feeling it was important to listen to her now. Life and death important. “Work Sarah?” She turned around to face the younger of the two Shields sisters. “Yes. Work before play. Your work isn’t done, is it?” She asked. Sara had to really apply thought and brainpower to what the young woman was saying. Before she could ask, Sara looked around at the environment, the buildings, the dense fog that was setting in. “This isn’t were you belong, is it Sara?” She looked at Sara with a knowing, overly intelligent gaze. One that evoked wisdom beyond the young girl’s years. “Run Sara!” Sarah’s voice was sharp and crisp in the midafternoon wintery day. “Run? Where? Why?” Sarah looked at her with a knowing look, like she expected her to put all the puzzle pieces together. “Run Sara, before it all fades away.” Sarah’s voice came again before she could ask; Sarah gave her one more bit of helpful information. “Run to the place where you feel the safest. Run as if your life depended on it.” Jessica stepped forward “Or you could go and play in the park.” She had the smile of pure innocence and Sara wanted nothing more than to rush into the park and play with her friends. She stood dead still in her tracks. Realization washing over her, realization about the last year, the weather, her current situation. Reality struck Sara like a bolt of lightning on a clear blue day. She looked at Sarah and her mouth fell open. “No!” she half shouted. “No! That. That couldn’t be. NO!” Sara yelled at the top of her lungs. The winter day grew still and darkness began to creep in. Sara wheeled around and ran back towards the apartment. As if a massive dam was broke, the gray mass of fog turned black and washed over the library and where she had just been standing. Sarah and Jessica disappeared and the playground descended into the eternal darkness. Sara ran as fast and as hard as she could. The black mass giving chase, staying just steps away from her. Sara ran, memories coming in clearer focus. She saw events of the past year in a different light. She could scarcely believe what these new revelations could mean. She didn’t dare to hope, she was in a race for her life.

  Sara pumped her legs and arms in synch to gain as much speed as she could. Her lungs felt like they were on fire, and her legs began to cramp due to the cold and wet, but she pushed through. She hadn’t gone through everything she had to be beaten now. She raced, she ran, and she fought. She wasn’t going to give up, not now. Not ever. She reached the front door to the apartment building and the door flew open, Charles was there, but it was only a ghostly image of the man he used to be. “Welcome home Mrs. Connelly. I suggest you avoid the elevator, it’ll take too long. The stairs are clear though. If you can make it.” He threw at her as she ran past him. She ran straight for the door to the stairs. “43 floors! That’s gonna be a workout.” She thought to herself as she ripped the door open and made her way up the first flight. As she ran she pictured images from the last year in her head. She needed fuel to push through this; she needed hope to stay alive. She had a hard race ahead of her and she wasn’t sure if she was ready for the finish line. The dark undulating mass of black followed her through the lobby and into the stairwell. “Charles was right, I wouldn’t have made the elevator.” She was thankful he came back to help her. She felt like she had been climbing the stairs forever, she ran up the next flight and saw she had made the 4th floor. “What the hell?! This is gonna be hopeless!” she screamed, yet she continued running. Flight after flight, she kept going. The black mass so close at times, she could smell the stench of death in it. She hit the 15th floor and her legs buckled; she had reached exhaustion and couldn’t go another step. The black roiling mass halted its advance on her, toying with her. She tried to jump back to her feet but a tendril shot out and grabbed at her ankle. She kicked at it hard and lost her shoe. “Screw it, it’ll be easier to run without heels on!” she flung the other one at the black mass and took off running again. On the next landing she saw the ghostly image of Shelby there “Keep going Sara, you can make it. Don’t quiet now!” Shelby was waving her one. “I’ll hold it back as long as I can!” Sara ran past the image of her young friend and turned to watched as Shelby moved to the center of the stairs and threw herself at the black mass that was right on her heels. The darkness receded and howled in pain and it slowed its advance on Sara. It seemed as if Shelby making contact with it stunned it. Sara didn’t have time to put more thought into it, she had to keep moving. She continued up the flights of steps, after two more; she saw the ghostly image of Samantha awaiting her. “Hurry Sara! It’s coming for you! I’ll try to hold it off.” Sara ran past the image of Samantha and assumed Sam had done the same thing Shelby did when she heard the mass scream out in pain again and slowed its advance. Sara used this time to gain some ground on it. She bolted up the next flight and saw the image of Jessica waiting. “Keep going Sweetie! We’ve got your back!” Sara shot past her and after a few seconds heard the awful cry of pain from the black stuff creeping its way up to Sara.

  She kept moving. At the next landing was the image of Sarah. She knew the deal, she had to keep moving, she was grateful for all these people to come to her aid in her most desperate time of need. Sara had to make it to t
he one safe spot she had, the apartment. She was in a race of life versus death and life would win out. Her and her friends would make sure of it. Sara continued her flight for life. She ran past the ghostly images of friends and family, old and new; each doing what they could to stop the black mass from catching its prize. She pumped her legs as hard as she could and used her arms to maintain her balance. She was closing in on the 42nd floor when she hit an insurmountable wall of exhaustion. Her foot slipped on one of the stairs and she fell hard, ramming her shin into the metal step. She collapsed and lay there. The black mass closed in on her again and this time it didn’t look like it would stop. It was going to consume her and she didn’t have the strength to fight any more. She was drenched in sweat and she ached all over. A light shone from the landing above her. She raised her head to look up and had to shield her eyes from the blinding light. “You’ve got this Sara. Don’t you give up on me now!!” the ghostly image of Chris put a hand out and Sara reached up to take it as the black mass swarmed over her legs. She knew in a few seconds the blackness would completely consume her and she would cease to exist. Chris was here to see her to the other side. She didn’t care anymore. She wanted the pain to stop. She wanted the suffering to stop. She wanted it all to go away. Delirium was setting in. Dehydration and over use had cramped her muscles. She looked up at the image of Chris, pleading with him. “Sara! Don’t you give up! Not after all of this. Fight you coward!” A fire roared up from inside of Sara. She could take being called many things, but nobody called her a coward. She didn’t care what state she was in, where she was at, if anyone let that word fly, she was ready to fight and to hear Chris say that to her really set her blood to boiling. She kicked at the black mass and roared in rage. It fell away from her easier than she thought and she got to her feet. She took a deep breath and ran the last set of stairs up. The black mass came back at her at double its own speed and ferocity. It wasn’t going to let her go easily and she wasn’t going down that easy. It was a war of wills and she wasn’t going to lose. Nobody called her a coward. She ran to the 43rd floor hallway and shot through it as the mass behind her reached out for her again. She narrowly avoided being grabbed by it. She looked and the ghostly image of Chris was right behind her. She reached the door to the apartment and threw it open with all her strength.