40 Steps to Fate (18 Steps- BIG BANG!)

by Steven in Illinois

18 Steps

            There’s plenty of “joy ride” in the word death. In fact, I’ve faced that word so many times; I was getting sick of it. “Now, let me ask,” I whispered. “Why, exactly, will we die?” I asked. But by then, it was clear she wasn’t going to say anything. Her eyes seemed to shift colors then, as if for one, strange, completely illogical moment, her eyes were blue. Then, the moment was gone, replaced by an eerie silence as she walked away. What was once joy was now anything but it, and I had to figure out what it now was. The only problem was that I couldn’t get anything out of Jamie.

            I had a dream. Jamie was holding my hand, and it looked like we were about sixteen. I couldn’t help but stare at her womanly figure, which had become so in only four years. She seemed so tranquil, so happy, and she began to kiss me. Something in that kiss was gone in today’s Jamie. At that very second, I made a promise to myself, that I’d dig into her secrets, and try to discover the problem with her.

            I’d keep that promise.

Party night.

            I had written Jamie a note, promising her that she should meet me in our reserved room and have some “private time”. On the other hand, I began to realize that something about her wasn’t right. It was if she was sensing something horrible was on the doorstep, and that I was dangerously close to welcoming it in. However, she said nothing, and soon enough, it was an hour to the party. I grabbed my clothes, and got them all on, then managed to comb and arrange my hair to make it just a little bit wavy, with some nice flow. I got a tie, and got it around my dress shirt, then threw on the tux I had ready. I got my shoes on, and headed outside. I waited for not more than a minute before the limo arrived. The limo was slick black, and it seemed so infinitely dazzling, I froze for a minute before I realized I was supposed to get in the car. I entered, and then ordered the chauffer to Jamie’s house.

            Oh. My. God.

            Jamie was wearing a turquoise dress that seemed to mix perfectly with her dark brown eyes, and her hair had been slightly curled, so now she had that look that would make anybody want her. She seemed to glow so bright, the stars and moon seemed to cease to shine. Slowly, she walked towards the limo, and I opened the door, stepped out, and kissed her. I gently directed her to sit down. I sat down next to her, and whispered, “Beautiful.” She looked at me then, and something in her told me she felt an emotion she wanted to speak, but didn’t have the courage. I smiled gently, then cupped her cheek. “It’s okay,” I whispered. “All’s alright.” I ordered the chauffer to Tristan’s house, and eventually, we arrived.

            Naturally, we were crowded over by the huge crowd out to greet us. Jamie and I were holding hands, and the look in some of those boys smelled like murder. I told her to meet me in about fifteen minutes, then progressed to our reserved room in Tristan’s mansion.

            Our room had a piano in there, a single king size bed, that looked like one for five star hotels, and a huge lamp in one corner of the room. Then, there was a mirror, huge, and big enough to see my entire figure standing. I straightened my tie, then walked to the piano. I began to play, and eventually got sucked into the song. I closed my eyes, and felt all the emotions in the songs: Happiness, tranquility, and purely good, the best parts of life that rarely showed up. Over a couple minutes, I heard Jamie walk in. Suddenly, something felt strangely wrong, but I ignored my head. It was screaming for me to get out of my dream world. However, I gestured to my lips, eyes still closed. The kiss was gentle, and pure, but something about it was strange. It was foreign, a speck of suspicion arose in me. However, it felt so pure, and so happy, that I couldn’t suppress myself. Just then, I heard footsteps. Somebody paused at a door, and suddenly ran towards the stairs. Realization hit me, and my eyes thrust open.

            It was Angela I was kissing.

            It was Jamie who had paused at the door.

            I ran hard, and managed to jump down the stairs in two steps, with Angela following closely, in a navy blue dress, asking what was wrong. I ran outside, just in time to see the limo drive away. I ran, as fast as I had ever, and people passing by began to realize that this magical night had gone wrong in the first matter of minutes. I felt my breath never end, and eventually, I caught up to the limo, and forced it to stop. I thrust open the door, and yelled, “Jamie! I…” but was thrust backward by some force.

            Jamie slowly crawled out of the limo, her hand help up at me in a claw, her eyes holding tears, painful eyes I wanted to comfort and reassure. Then, she formed something in her clawed hand, which became a tiny sphere, yellow, and spinning like a yellow golf ball at 500 mph, then I began to realize the truth.

            Jamie was not quite mortal.

            The ball flew towards me.