Through Glass || PU Mere || V8 W3 || Tuesday Morning
There was too much noise in this world. Even the times she had fooled herself into believing the world was normal- that everyone wasn’t dead or dying- the noise had never been this loud, this vibrant.
Even more, there were so many people, and things had changed so much. It was still Queens, but the wearing looked different than she imagined. This wasn’t her childhood abode, there were families that she wouldn’t imagine there. Maybe her brain had tried to create a fake world just to prove that nothing would get better again. But the noise was too vibrant, too clear, for this to be an illusion. Especially one of her own creation.
Gun held low, Meredith ducked into an alley. She had to admit, it had been impressive on the way over to her childhood neighborhood. The detail of life going on at every corner. Most definitely real. Even if she managed to hold this large of an illusion for as long as this one would have been going on, there was too much detail.
Kids were walking with their parents, business people scurried on the streets as if their world were ending today. Little did they know that after it did end, things tended to move slower. Somewhere between leisure and survival.
Meredith slid the gun in her waistband. She stalked down the alley, trying to open doors as she did so. It seemed like people actually cared enough to lock doors here, which would be hilarious if it weren’t infuriating. Giving up on that venture, she took a cigarette from her case, and stood at the opening of the alley, lighting up and staring at the people staring back at her.
She knew it was a bad habit, but if something were going to kill her, she’d rather it not be a dinky virus. She took in her surroundings, the noises, the smells. It was the New York that should have been. The only question she supposed was left was what else was here? Who else was here?
She tossed the butt to the ground, gaining some dirty looks that were silenced with a hard glare, and began to walk aimlessly with the foot traffic. She supposed that if it felt right, she ought not fight it. If it felt right, then she’d end up right where she needed to be.