The Human Aura

Aurelia crept through the dilapidated corridor. Her eyes hadn’t fully adjusted to the eerie pitch black that the lack of moonlight inside had cast. This wasn’t the most ideal spot, but it would do for the night. She wondered if there were any of those super processed dessert cakes left stashed anywhere. It’s ironic how they were considered junk when society still stood, and now she was sure that just one would restore her health. She supposed there weren’t though; this definitely had to be one of the first places hit when ‘they’ began showing up. Still, she could just about feel her stomach touching her spine at this point, and she wasn’t amongst those who had a craving for human flesh. No, there weren’t any brain-eating zombies. What plagued the earth these days was much worse.

Finding a nice sleeping position on an old recliner that didn’t actually recline was the easy part. As if sleep would come easily to her in this heightened state of awareness, she scoffed. Deciding to let sleep come to her later, she stumbled throughout the abandoned home, imagining how warm and inviting it must have felt in what seemed like years ago. Well, it had been years, but not very many. Time was meaningless at this point. How many birthdays had gone uncelebrated since then?

During the day, it was safer because it was hard to tell who was who. Two very similar species now coexisted. One being human, and the other merely humanoid. You couldn’t tell by interacting with them at the store, or working closely alongside them, let alone living amongst them. It wasn’t until night when most victims would simply disappear... Sometimes you’d hear a cry, or the struggle that took place. She and others called them ‘Skins’. They’d always been here on the Earth. From what Aurelia knew, they were nearly pushed to extinction while staying on the outskirts of civilization. That is until people did what every group does before them; turning against each other and destroying themselves in the process. Now that there were fewer humans to compete with, not that they shared a common diet, it was easier to fall prey to them.

As she felt along the peeling walls- using a flashlight would attract unwanted company- she made sure to keep her footsteps as quiet as possible. She was now in one of the many rooms upstairs. It had its own particular smell which had reminded her of a specific day she’d spent with her family at the beach. Scents were funny like that, the way you could smell a memory. She could still hear her brother yelling, “Aura! the seagulls are eating our bait!”, as they ran to cover their shrimp laughing. Her mother was shook her head while holding in her laughter, as their father fought off the birds. Reminiscing, Aurelia smiled and sat in a chair in the corner of the room. It was to her surprise that she heard the soft crunch beneath her. Still in darkness, she opened the hard candy and decided to let the taste surprise her. It was most likely a strawberry cream saver. Smiling at the likelihood of such a small miracle, she put her feet up on the windowsill, finally ready to rest.

That was her first mistake. She’d accidentally knocked over a small object that had been collecting dust, but it came down with a deafening crash. For the first few seconds, she could only hear the rush of her heartbeat in her ears. Then, she felt a sickening sensation in her gut after hearing a faint shuffle downstairs. Everything in her was screaming at her to get out of there. Knowing she wouldn’t be fast enough to outrun who or whatever had entered, she opted to hide. She stood up and glanced around the room quickly to weigh her options. There was the chair she was just sitting in, a small closet, and a single bed in the corner. She slammed the closet door and slid underneath the bed frame making sure to use the bed skirt as a covering. Hands shaking, she clutched her pocket knife.

Two sets of footsteps made their way up the stairs as she tried to quiet her breathing. She could hear excited whispering as though they knew they were getting closer to having her cornered. She heard them enter the room across from the one she was hiding. Their stench filled the room; it was animalistic. They took their time opening doors; in no rush. Her best bet was to stay hidden until daylight. These beings were sensitive to the sun, and she would use that to her advantage. She’d never had to defend herself from this close before. Humans usually stuck together in groups these days, so when she did encounter any, her role was usually backup. Sweat slid down her side as she waited. Inevitably, the dreadful moment occurred when they stepped across the threshold to the room she was in. While she didn’t dare breathe, they immediately headed toward the closet door she had slammed shut earlier. They took the bait. The seconds passed like minutes as they took interest in the items in the closet, walking around the bed and checking out the furniture until finally turning to leave.

That's when she remembered the wrapper of the hard candy she’d just eaten. In a matter of seconds, they knew that she was there. Adrenaline took over as she lashed from under the bed at the ankles of her pursuers, determined to get a head start. Aurelia scrambled from under the bed to reach the door as she heard a screech of pain. She felt her leg being pulled by one of them as the other fell, and flailed her leg as best she could until there was only a hand pulling at her foot. She allowed her shoe to get yanked off as she fled down the hall and into a bathroom in what was probably the master bedroom. Locking the door, and feeling around for something to block herself in, she fell over a stool. Desperate for an escape, she climbed from there onto the sink/cabinet area and felt for that familiar spot in the ceiling. Was this the attic? She didn’t dare think about the alternative and climbed the thin ladder that she pulled from above her. She waited atop the opening for any sign of them. No doubt there would be more soon, but if she could just make it to sunrise she’d have the advantage. It wouldn’t kill them, but the sun tended to burn them more easily than the average human. They would take back to hiding among the shadows and blending in with people.

They were running now, running to her and they were calling for others; their hunger leading their search. But, they did not find her, and as long as the ceiling held, they wouldn’t. They didn’t have any super human powers, so they couldn’t sniff her out. Besides, she was pretty clean and they wouldn’t be able to pick up her scent anyways. One paced the room below her while the other raced throughout the house. There was a chance she wouldn’t make it back out, and she wished she hadn’t left her valuables in her backpack downstairs for them to go through. The tears finally fell as the adrenaline wore off and she was left with sadness. She didn’t realize how long the search had gone on before finally drifting to sleep.

Disoriented after a weird dream about eating waffles, Aurelia remembered her predicament. The floor of the attic was musty and hard, and took a toll on her aching body. Unaware of how much time had passed, she listened for voices or movement below, but heard nothing. Finally, she pulled the latch of the door and lowered the ladder back down. Early morning shone through the dirty windows and she was surprisingly glad to see the glare of the sun. In the vanity, she saw the determined young woman she’d become looking back at her. Her tight curls were pulled in a high bun. Her expression somber, she could almost laugh after her previous night, but only smirked and left to gather her things. She stepped back into that room and saw how things had been torn apart in an attempt to find her.

The warm sunlight was refracted from a small piece of metal near the window. She walked over to find a small heart shaped locket on the floor. This must have been what she knocked over the night before. She picked it up, noticing the smooth exterior. It clicked open and she could see a tiny photo of a woman with a beautiful smile. The other half read in tiny words “Heart of Gold.” More tears filled her eyes as she took this as a sign. She was always annoyed at her parents for being overly optimistic and naming her Aurelia, “The Golden One”.

She didn’t believe in coincidences, but it gave her hope that they were still alive out there and that she was headed in the right direction. It was funny to think that this small necklace almost cost her her life. She pulled out a scarf to cover her face. Everyone wore coverings now because of the air quality and its toxicity. As she gathered her belongings, she pulled the small map from the pocket of her jacket and threw the locket inside. She would continue to head east, unaware that she was being followed.