Was she cursed? Kim knew she must have been cursed. Why else would all of this happen? Her appearance, school, everything that has happened while living rough- this could not be a coincidence. What was next? Dropping dead?
By this point that would be preferable.
Kim’s bad luck struck harder as, after her encounter with the ‘Shadow People’ as she dubbed them, everything just got worse. She had developed a bad fever to complement her cold. She would have questioned why she had not died at this point, but after everything that had happened- she had given up on trying to figure things out. At this point, it was like walking through a heavy fog. More often than not, she would find herself coming out of stupors and having no grasp of time or place.
After sleepless nights and ever-moving days, Kim finally found herself in the west end of Glasgow, near the River Kelvin. Kelvingrove was a good place to hide. The museum was warm and people did not seem very offended by Kim’s presence. Of course she got some dirty looks from the front desk lady whenever she made an appearance but she simply resigned herself to simply huffing and puffing angrily. If Kim had been braver, she would have asked patrons for a few coins to try and get food from the cafe but she felt unable to. But she was becoming desperate. She needed food, it had been far too long since she had last eaten.
One day, only goodness how long it had been since the shadow people attacked, Kim was wandering the street outside of the Art Gallery aimlessly, only aware of the cold air striking her cheeks. The next time she came out of her stupor, she noticed that she was standing near a cafe. It was not a crowded day today. People were out with families, and there was a school on their trip. Already her mind began to tie itself in knots with worry. Since her frightening encounter with the shadow people, Kim simply could not cope with being surrounded by strangers. How was she supposed to know that the kind old woman sitting on a bench and feeding pigeons was not one of those Not-Police working undercover? Kim had seen and sensed more and more of them in the last few days. The alarm bells at the back of her head simply would not relent. It was like everywhere she tried to hide, there would be at least one floating around. Several people looked over at her and while some politely turned their head away to avert their gaze, a few began muttering to each other. Kim could only assume they were talking about her.
She had seen her reflection while in the museum bathroom as she attempted to clean herself up and frankly she was now not shocked by other people’s reactions. Her face was ghostly with flushed cheeks and a red nose, and the skin under her dull eyes was dark. Kim was unsure if there was more to see or not, it seemed that the fever was clouding her head more and more with each passing day. The only thought that pushed through the fog was that she had to eat. And soon.
Her eyes drifted onto a table where two people had just gotten up, possibly to buy drinks or something. But her eyes quickly darted to their plates. There was a sandwich that had not been touched. Kim did not know what was in it, but just the sight of it sent her thoughts into a frenzy.
Nobody was looking. The food had been paid for, it was not like she would be taking money from the seller surely? Maybe if she was quick…
She reached out to grab it and…
It was as if she had been struck by a train. Everything descended into chaos as Kim felt a surge of panic and a fresh wave of pain pulsing in her head. It was as if she had fallen through a hole and was suspended in the air while everything happened around her. Hands grabbing her shoulders, a man’s face shouting right into hers, people screaming, tables flying, the impact of the ground hitting her hard and the sky swirling sickly above her. Before she felt herself succumb to the darkness, a new figure appeared through the blur, hair coloured like a bird of paradise and with a voice that wavered between worry and annoyance.
“Gotcha!” her voice floated through the air, Kim felt herself be lifted from the ground.
“Nooo…” she groaned, but everything felt so heavy, she could not do anything, “leave me alone…”
“It’s gonna be okay, I promise, it’s just-” the stranger sighed gruffly, “it’ll be ages before we can come back here.”
Kim tried to answer back. But she felt her head fell back and everything grew still.
…
…
…
“So, she was at Kelvingrove?”
“Aye, just outside the gallery. Caused a right mess and scared a ton of sleepers though.”
“Did she hurt them?”
“I don’t think so. Everyone I saw ran away. Still, I’m sure the place is crawling with Seekers by now. It’ll be days before we can go back. Besides, it seems that she hurt herself more than anyone else.”
“Did anyone see you two leave?”
“We weren’t followed if that’s what you mean.”
“And the Fagan?”
“Let me through without any problems, they were more curious than anything. Must be the one we were looking for.”
A pair of voices swirled into Kim’s ears within the darkness. Her eyelids felt too heavy to open and her head throbbed. But something was very different. She was not cold, in fact she could feel something warm and heavy covering her body. And much to her surprise, rather than lying on a cold and wet piece of pavement, Kim was on what felt like a squashy couch. It was the most comfortable Kim had been in weeks. However, this feeling was fleeting as an awful thought pulsed through her sore head.
“Okay. I’ll tell Guinevere you found her. I’ll let you two look after her. Let me know when she’s well enough for me to meet her.”
“Thanks, Meredith,” another voice spoke, a huskier one. Then she heard a door closed.
Surely the police had been called. Surely, Trudy had brought her back home and certainly it was only a matter of time before Fraser started screaming for sweets and Kim would be made to go and get some from the shops. The fact of being ill would fall on deaf ears and she would be made to anyway. She must already be in the room with a friend or something, she had heard them talk but had not paid attention.
“Gimme another minute…” Kim groaned.
It was only then Kim felt herself able to open her eyes, slowly. She was not in Trudy’s immaculate living room, but in a shabby room, held up by four fake walls. In the corner was an old television with a bent arial, a stack of clumsily assorted video cassettes, a coffee table and on the other side of the sofa, much to Kim’s terror stood two strangers standing next to a counter, brimming with cups and little boxes. Two girls, older than her but still teenagers. They were dressed similarly to Kim, but their hair and clothes were clean and both seemed healthy; were they homeless too?
“Oh, you’re still living among us.” The taller of the pair spoke. Kim blinked and nodded stiffly, afraid to speak. The girl who spoke had a stern gaze, more akin to a teacher rather than the eighteen year old she was. Her hair was long and blonde and it parted behind her into a trio of braids. The rest draped over her shoulders like a cloak making her look very dignified. Her eyes were a warm orange, though with the expression she was giving her they seemed very hawkish.
Next to her stood the girl Kim assumed had been the one he heard before passing out. Now that she was awake, she could see her better. Her hair fell free onto her shoulders, red over her head but the longer her hair went on, it slipped seamlessly from red, to purple and then to blue at the tips. Her eyes were an unnaturally shimmering green, like a pair of bright emeralds. Her expression was far more approachable but the hairs on Kim’s arms bristled and looked between the pair fearfully. What were they talking about? What did they want?
“Where am I?” she finally managed to splutter, “Who are you?”
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