My mind felt clear as I ran. Feet clipping hard against the pavement and heart pounding in my chest, I felt peaceful, renewed. In the calm of the early morning, the only sound I paid attention to was the huff of my breathing and the splash of water underfoot. The air was bitter cold, pouring into my lungs like jagged ice – the only downside to going for a run before the sun was up.
The path ahead was still covered with a slick spray of evening rain. It took conscious effort to avoid drenching my feet in the potholes that now cupped the excess rain.
I rounded a corner, counting my breaths.
Two on the inhale. Two on the exhale. Four on the inhale. Two on the exhale.
The rhythm came naturally to me now. A cycle in four parts, as most things in life.
There was a break in the trees ahead, clearing just enough space for a lone streetlamp to illuminate the trail. It was the last lamp before turning back onto the main road, which meant my brisk jog was just about over. Soon another mundane day would begin.
During a quieter inhale, a noise caught my ear. My pace slowed slightly as I listened more closely. For a moment, there was only the whistle of a breeze as it raked its fingers through the bare branches, but-
There it is again.
I stopped dead in my tracks.
A murmur? Was someone talking to me? Blood was pounding through my ears and the noise was faint, but there was no mistaking that what I was hearing was a voice. My heart, already hard at work, felt jolted as I stared into the emptiness beyond the reach of the streetlamp.
I licked my lips, preparing to call out, but I was beat to the punch.
“… please…”
Like the legs of a thousand spiders skittering across my body, I felt my skin popping with goosebumps.
This is the part where I turn around and run back the other way, right? Bits of gravel crackled underfoot as I repositioned myself for flight.
Thirty feet from the tips of my shoes, a figure shambled into the glow of the light. The sight of them weakened my knees as well as my resolve. The sounds of the stranger were unbearable to listen to – cracked and wheezing.
“… please…”
They drew nearer, each step forward creating a clearer silhouette. It was a woman, one who seemed to be having a pretty rough morning. Their shoulders popped forward, arrhythmically, arms held over their chest rather than providing balance. Their left side was noticeably weaker; the right foot came down, hard and demanding, while the left was dragged behind like a stubborn child. With a sickening scrape-scrape it became apparent to me that their left foot was bare.
My fingers shot to my pocket, ready to pull out my cell and phone for emergency services.
Shit!
The pocket was empty. I recalled, with utmost dismay, the sight of it on the kitchen counter as I muttered to myself “I don’t really need it, right?” I pursed my lips together, studying the woman and debating whether or not I should approach them. They seemed to be trying like hell to catch up to me. Would there be any negative repercussions in leaving them there…?
The crickets sang in the grass around us but were too timid to drown out the sound the stranger’s shuffle. I put a clenched fist to my chest and looked over my shoulder. If they were trying to attack me, wouldn’t they have done so already? It felt like I’d been standing there, staring, for way longer than I was welcome to. Couldn’t I just head back home, grab my cell, and call someone for help? I bit my lip. The way they were staggering felt too genuine for this to work out to be nothing more than a prank.
A gasp from the figure sharply drew my attention back to the halo of the streetlamp.
My eyes widened, for the first time I noticed that she was carrying something in her arms.
“… please…” she begged, doubled over and moaning with her spare breaths. “… ta…ke…”
“What?” I mumbled in response; my voice strained.
“… ta- ah!” The woman gasped as the tip of her foot caught in a dip on the path. She collapsed, kneeling to catch herself with a free hand. A horrific wail broke loose from her lips.
As if in response to her cry, a smaller one resounded through the space. It came from the bundle she held so close to her chest. It was unmistakable – the cry of an infant.
Anxiety jolted through me, sparking me into action as I raced over.
“Hey!” I called, hands reaching out to take hold of her. “Are you alright? Are you injured?”
Her shoulders felt hard in my grasp. Was it… bone? No… she didn’t seem that thin.
She rolled her head up to meet my gaze. Her hair fell over her face, but I could see how tightly her brows were knit together. Her eyes were wide and dripping with desperation. Even under the yellowed glow of the light her pale skin looked blue.
Without moving from where she knelt, she rigidly raised the baby towards me with one arm. I could see movement, but the infant was covered by a cloth. It continued to cry as I reached to take it from her.
“… Maria…” she whispered, letting her hand fall to the ground as I gathered the baby.
“Maria?”
“… name… Maria…” Her words were escaping through her teeth, her lips barely parting.
“Your baby?” I asked, trying to keep her focused. “Your baby’s name is Maria?”
With a slow, mechanical motion, she shook her head. She sobbed. “… don’t… touch… don’t… touch…” Her breaths became more strained, and suddenly she was gasping as if she couldn’t breathe at all.
“H-Hey!” I reached out a hand to grasp her shoulder.
The world seemed slower in that moment. I could hear every individual crack, like playing back a recording of glass breaking in half-speed. Her arm dislodged from the shoulder, as if nothing was holding her together anymore, and she fell to the ground, her face clattering like pottery that had been carelessly dropped.
“Ah-!” I winced, drawing back, letting go of the hold I had on her disjointed arm. Near the point of hyperventilating, I repositioned myself on my knees in order to roll her over onto her back. I slid my hand underneath her body. “Hey-”
A sharp pain caused me to pull my hand back. Blood dribbled down my palm from a jagged gash that stretched across three of my fingers. My hand shook as I examined it.
“W-what?” I got to my feet and stared at the stranger, my foot inching closer, preparing to do something unforgivable. As gently as I could, I tipped her over with my foot.
Upon rolling her over, more cracks broke out.
I felt my blood run cold.
The woman’s face… was hollow. Opened by cracks with a large hole over where her nose should have been. Every remaining piece was fractured and jagged. Not a drop of blood was in sight. In fact, there was no sign of a skull or brain either. I couldn’t wrap my mind around what I was looking at.
A shift in the bundle drew my attention back to what I held in my arms, but it wasn’t the child moving, simply the breeze catching at the cloth. It registered that the child hadn’t moved or cried since I’d taken it.
Could it be…? My eyes glanced back at the woman.
“No, no…” I whispered, my hand grazing the cloth where I assumed the face would be. “Come on… You were just so lively… Come on…”
My heart tight, I pulled the cloth from the baby, and froze.
A… doll…?
Eyes burning, I examined the pale face of a porcelain doll, painted up with make-up, hair curled, wearing an antique dress. Subconsciously, I brushed the hair out of its face, my fingertips baffled by the smoothness of it.
“But I just…” Numbness began to set in, beginning at the tips of my fingers before slowly crawling up my arm. “I just heard you cry… This can’t be real. This can’t be real.”
Staring down at the face, I began to count my breaths. With every cycle, my body felt stiff.
Two on the inhale. Two on the exhale. Four on the inhale. Two on the exhale.
“Ah…” I stared at my hand for a moment, unable to move my fingers or rotate my wrist.
Two on the inhale. Two on the exhale. Four on the inhale. Two on the exhale.
I wondered if it had always been so hard to swallow. Was I dizzy? Or was my vision getting hazier? The glow of the streetlamp seemed to buzz like white noise, and that face… was it grinning?
It wasn’t possible. I tried to move my head to look at something else, but it was like turning a crank for every bone in my spine.
Two on the inhale… why is it so hard to breathe… Two on the exhale…
“Ah-” I choked on my next inhale, feeling my throat harden down to my lungs.
I’m… suffocating?
I continued to struggle for a breath, but the numbness was persuasive. My body felt like it wasn’t mine anymore. I couldn’t even feel it as I fell to the pavement, crushing the side of my face against the asphalt. I couldn’t taste the mud or the water that splashed into my mouth. I couldn’t force a scream.
The only part of me still functioning were my eyes, and even they were beginning to fail.
The doll. She stared at me, her smile widening. If I’d still been able to hear, would I have heard her laughing…?
Maria…? Maria…?
The light began to fade, and all was black before the sun was up.